How do we get tickets for Wimbledon? That’s a question I am often asked and the answer is either to get there very, very early in the morning to queue or to put in for the public ballot the year before you want to go. I was lucky enough to win 2 tickets in the ballot for Court 1 for last Friday so excitement levels were high!
We took the tube to Southfields where you are immediately plunged into the tennis spirit as the platform is decorated as a tennis court – such a great touch.
Southfields tube station in tennis mode
As ticket holders you just walk straight in which is such a treat after my visit last year when I had to queue for 4 hours. However, the rain came down as we entered so we found a dry spot and got ready for a long wait as this summer has not been the best for outdoor events. We were very jealous of the even luckier people who had Centre Court tickets as with its wonderful roof, play is guaranteed now. This photo shows what we could see!
Sad sight early last Friday
Then the rain lifted, the clouds moved off and the sun came out so we headed off to our seats on Court 1 to enjoy the Women’s Doubles Semi Final featuring the awesome Williams sisters. We were treated to 3 sets of high quality tennis with a great view of the court from our excellent seats.
Court 1 at Wimbledon
The Williams sisters – a winning combo
By now Andy Murray was on Centre Court and we could hear the crowd getting very excited so we headed off to the Hill – still called Henman Hill after Tim Henman. There’s a big screen and always a massive crowd of very loud tennis fans. The tension watching Andy Murray was hard to bear but the outpouring of relief when he beat Tsonga was brilliant to be part of. I really like Tsonga but he was up against a Brit bidding to be into the final for the first time since 1936. Sadly he came up against the genius of Roger Federer on Sunday but on Friday it was still all optimism and hope. The view from the Hill is great, giving you a great feel of the whole of Wimbledon and as you can see the evening was glorious.
The match from Henman Hill
Views over Wimbledon
Come on Andy!
The Wimbledon ballot opens in August and all the information is on their website, so have a look and perhaps you could be there next year!
Bye for now,
Sue
itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon
I'm a southfields resident and I love how the tube station gets decorated every year and I'm always really sad when they take it all away at the end of wimbledon. Though we do now have olympic rings on the banks beside the platform.