camping in London<\/a>, essentially.”<\/p>\nMore than 9,000 people had joined the queue, according to an event steward (Image: Mike Egerton\/PA)<\/p>\n
Mr Spencer and his friends came prepared for a long night, spending the time with drinks and a takeaway pizza order that took two hours to arrive.<\/p>\n
He described the atmosphere in the queue as lively, with a steady mix of conversation, laughter, and anticipation for the day ahead.<\/p>\n
The Atmosphere<\/p>\n
Fans of all ages and backgrounds brought life to the queue, with many remarking on the sense of camaraderie.<\/p>\n
Student Hannah Turcinova, who travelled from the Czech Republic, arrived at 2pm on Sunday and was surprised by how many people were already there.<\/p>\n
Ms Turcinova said: “We came at 2pm, and we thought there would be no one.<\/p>\n
“That was the original time on the website\u2026 and it was written, please don’t come before this time.<\/p>\n
“So next time, we’re definitely going to come in the morning.”<\/p>\n
Many people camped overnight in tents or arrived in the early hours of Monday morning (Image: Mike Egerton\/PA)<\/p>\n
Despite the long wait, Ms Turcinova described the experience as positive.<\/p>\n
She said: “It was a pleasant experience.<\/p>\n
“People are just coming around you and want to chat.<\/p>\n
“Very lovely.<\/p>\n
“Nobody’s trying to get in front of you, everyone’s just at their side.”<\/p>\n
Camping conditions<\/p>\n
Camping overnight is a key part of the Wimbledon Queue tradition, with fans aiming to secure a spot near the front for the best chance of Centre Court or No.1 Court tickets.<\/p>\n
Not everyone found the weather as warm as expected.<\/p>\n
Jeremy Mangalindan, a head chef from Brentford, said: “It got colder in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n
“After this little heatwave, I didn’t expect that.”<\/p>\n
Others came with their own advice after spending the night outdoors.<\/p>\n
Sam Shepherd, who travelled from Penrith in Cumbria, said: “I would recommend a blackout tent \u2013 it’s quite nice keeping it dark still.”<\/p>\n
Ms Shepherd described the overall atmosphere as friendly and fun, though she noted the lack of sleep was a challenge.<\/p>\n
She arrived at 3pm on Sunday and was woken early by stewards.<\/p>\n
People in the queue on day one of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships in London (Image: Mike Egerton\/PA)<\/p>\n
She said: “They did wake us up half an hour early, they woke us up at 5am.<\/p>\n
“They come round and go, morning, everybody up, get your tents packed away.”<\/p>\n
For some, the decision to join the queue was last-minute.<\/p>\n
One woman, who did not wish to be named, said: “I’m supposed to be at work today, but my cousin’s come in from Vancouver and she’s a really big tennis fan.<\/p>\n
“She’s visiting family in London, so I thought, let’s make this happen for her.”<\/p>\n
She arrived at 3am with basic supplies.<\/p>\n
She said: “I only have one sleeping bag, and we don’t know where it is… so we just got mats and some blankets, and we slept on the ground.<\/p>\n
“It was quite cold actually.”<\/p>\n
Tradition and excitement<\/p>\n
The Wimbledon Queue has become a key part of the Championship experience, drawing fans from across the UK and around the world.<\/p>\n
Many visitors see the queue itself as part of the magic of Wimbledon.<\/p>\n
Ms Shepherd said: “It’s just one of those British summer experiences.<\/p>\n
“Everyone’s in good spirits, and you end up chatting with people from all over.”<\/p>\n
For many, it’s a rare chance to experience Centre Court in person\u2014if they’re willing to camp out and wait.<\/p>\n
Ups and downs<\/p>\n
There was some disappointment on the first day of the tournament, particularly for fans of Emma Raducanu.<\/p>\n
Mr Spencer said: “I think we’re slightly short of the big tickets.<\/p>\n
“I saw Emma Raducanu dropped out, that would have been really good.”<\/p>\n
READ MORE:<\/p>\n
The British number one pulled out of Wimbledon on Sunday evening, after a scan showed a leg injury she had been trying to overcome had become a stress fracture.<\/p>\n
That aside, most fans remained upbeat as they packed away tents and headed toward the turnstiles, ready for a day of tennis and tradition.<\/p>\n
As the Championships continue, so too will the Queue\u2014a living part of Wimbledon history, powered by patience, good humour, and a shared love of the sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of tennis fans camped overnight in Wimbledon Park as the Championships got under way, with many hoping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9190,1347,10286,10285,10283,10284,28,785,10281,285,9753,10282],"class_list":["post-27238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-brentford","tag-centre-court","tag-finsbury-park","tag-hannah-turcinova","tag-mr-spencer","tag-sam-shepherd","tag-tennis","tag-the-championships","tag-tom-spencer","tag-wimbledon","tag-wimbledon-park","tag-wimbledon-queue"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}