Here are some of the things that make Wimbledon special and unique.
Centre Court all decked out in flowers
1. The pre purchased tickets are nicely designed and make a great souvenir.
2. The Stewards are friendly, helpful and know about tennis. And there are loads of them.
3. Main court tickets can be re-sold if you leave early, and all the money goes to charity.
4. The event is purely about tennis. As much as I love the entertainment at the Australian Open, it’s lovely that everyone who is at Wimbledon wants to watch tennis.
5. The queues for toilets are quite short and they move really fast.
6. The tradition of Strawberries & Cream and Pimms.
Strawberries and cream
7. The uniforms of the lines people and ball kids, and some of the merchandise, is tastefully designed by Ralph Lauren.
8. The crowds are really good natured. They are olite and respectful of good tennis regardless of who is winning, and they don’t do the “ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bup-bup-ba” thing oft heard in Paris.
9. There is a Royal Box and royal people use it.
10. In Court 1 there are benches where you can sit and watch the match on TV while you’re waiting to get back in at a change of ends.
11. If you keep your eyes peeled you can often see players and coaches walking around the grounds.
12. Wimbledon Village gets into the tennis swing with promotions, matches shown on TV and big tennis balls in shop windows.
13. There are portable bleachers at the back of Murray Mound so you can sit in a chair and watch the big screen. This is particularly good if you have back problems and don’t want to sit on the hill for a long period.
View of the big screen from the bleachers at top of Henman Hill
14. The grounds are kept neat and tidy all the time.
15. The seats are really comfortable in the main courts.
16. The edges of the practice courts aren’t too crowded, so you can see players practicing really close to you (relative to how far away they can be when they are playing a match).
17. There are tours of the grounds in the off-season.
18. Flowers are everywhere, creating the look and feel of an English country garden.
19. The grounds are compact but feel quite spacious.
What else do you love about Wimbledon that I missed from the list? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know.
Until next time
Grand Slam Gal
And I didn’t add the middle Sunday rest day to the list but it’s definitely nice to have a break for a day and then be fresh and ready for Week 2.