Wimbledon spectators have the opportunity to secure prime seats on Centre Court for a mere £15, a significant reduction from the standard ticket prices.
This bargain contrasts sharply with the cost for top-tier seats at the grass-court Grand Slam, which reached £160 on Friday and escalate to £270 by the close of Week 2, before going up again for the singles finals.
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The key to unlocking these savings lies in the official resale service.
Available exclusively to those already on-site with a valid ticket, the system operates through a daily lottery via the Wimbledon app.
Successful participants can gain access to Centre Court for £15, or secure a spot on No. 1 Court or No. 2 Court for just £10 each.
These coveted spots become available when other spectators depart the grounds before the day’s play concludes.
Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court (AP)
The All England Club will not say how many tickets get resold.
“We’re selling the same ticket twice,” said the club’s operations manager, Michelle Dite.
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“The primary reason is to make tennis as accessible to as many people as possible.”
Money from resales goes to charities, via the Wimbledon Foundation. Nearly $80,000 was raised through the first three days of this year’s tournament, and the 2024 total was about $300,000.
Wimbledon has done resales since 1954, but until 2024, folks hoping to take advantage of the deal needed to stand in a line once they were on-site, hope they were there soon enough — and hope enough tickets were returned.
Now, though, that “line” is virtual.
People queue to get into the Wimbledon grounds (AP)
After opting in on the app, spectators get their phone scanned by 2.30pm at kiosks on-site or near the Wimbledon Queue, where thousands of people camp out at a local park for up to 24 hours in hopes of getting full-price tickets for main courts or grounds passes for smaller ones.
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Fans then wait for a text message giving the good news that they were one of the lucky ones chosen for the resale, which runs from 3pm-9pm.
They have 10 minutes to confirm they still want a used ticket for the rest of the day, and another 20 minutes to get themselves to the green-and-brown ticket resale booth behind No. 1 Court to show the QR code that lets them pay for the cheap tickets.
“You’re not stuck in one place forever,” said Henry Thompson, 38, a high school math teacher from Missouri in the United States.
“This is much more efficient. Took 30 seconds. Much better.”
People outside the ticket resale office at the tennis grounds (AP)
Mr Thompson, who was wearing a blue hat with the Wimbledon logo, really wanted to see 10th-seeded American Ben Shelton, so he entered the resale lottery and was able to get a seat for No. 2 Court for £10 instead of £85.
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“It’s beneficial to the sport to give people access to those courts for a reasonable price,” said Marcos Giron, a 45th-ranked American who won first-round matches in singles and doubles this week.
“It’s a wonderful thing.”
Chen Pinjung, who just finished medical school in Taiwan, waited in the queue for six hours, paid £30 there for a grounds pass, then also got herself into No. 1 Court via a resale for an additional £10 – instead of the £110 it could have cost to see 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina win there on Thursday.
“If everybody knew how that works, I’m sure everybody would apply,” said Rafael Garcia, who was with his girlfriend, Diana Meneses, and her brother, Gustavo Meneses.
“We saw that (resale) office last year, but we didn’t know how to do it. Now we will.”