New balls please! Gates open after queues all night for Wimbledon

Thousands of tennis fans queued overnight to get their hands on a golden ticket to Wimbledon — and hoped British players could be inspired by the Three Lions’ “never say die” attitude.

Groans followed by cheers rang out across a packed campsite in SW19, as those waiting outside the All England Club watched England’s nail-biting victory against Slovakia. “Hopefully it can inspire the tennis,” Lee Thomas, 36, from West Sussex, told the Standard. “If England can do it at the football, then why can’t the tennis players?”

British star Emma Raducanu pulled on an England football shirt ahead of her first round clash on Monday. She had been due to play 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, but the 29-year-old Russian pulled out of the match this morning because of illness. Her place in the draw will be taken by lucky loser Renata Zarazua, of Mexico.

Asked if she felt connected to the wider summer of sport, including Euro 2024, Raducanu replied: “I would love to be a part of it. I think it’s just an amazing summer of sport. Every day on site right now at Wimbledon is a blessing. You just enjoy the buzz.”

Wimbledon is rare among major sporting events because people are able to queue for tickets on the day. There are a limited number available daily for Centre Court, No 1 Court and No 2 Court, we well as thousands of grounds passes.

Many also hoped Wimbledon would provide “an escape” from the political bickering of the run-up to Thursday’s election. “It’s a break from it all isn’t it?” said Mr Thomas, who has camped overnight for Wimbledon tickets for the past five years. “It’s nice to switch off and enjoy the tennis.”

Harry Taylor, a pub owner from Bridge in Kent, said he was pleased to “wash his hands” of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Stamer’s off-the-court battle. “We all did postal votes because we knew we were going to be in the queue, and then we said, ‘Okay let’s enjoy the tennis now, we’ve had enough of this politics thing’,” he said.

Mr Taylor has queued overnight for tickets for the past 32 years. He arrived around 8am on Saturday and will spend the entire fortnight camping, rejoining the queue each day. He said he hopes Wimbledon could see more dramatic victories, like that enjoyed by England last night. “With Wimbledon there’s always an exciting match,” he said.

“It’s always edge-of-the-seat, there’s always an upset. Like Coco Gauff losing in the first round last year — you never know. Wimbledon is one of the greatest tournaments on the planet,” he added. “It’s right on our doorstep — to miss it is almost criminal” Mr Taylor is supporting defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, 21, who was due to face Mark Lajal on Centre Court today.

Also queuing overnight was Amber Yeoman, 27. “I’d say the women look like they’re going to do good for us this year,” she said. “Katie Boulter on grass looks good, Raducanu looks like she’s coming back into form as well.”

It was the 10th year of overnight queuing for Liz and Poppy Edwards, and Anne Franks, who hail from Devon, Stoke-on-Trent and Marlow. “It’s part of the fun,” said Ms Edwards. “We’d like to see Katie Boulter, Jack Draper, Andy Murray if he plays. We’d like to see [Murray’s] swansong.”

Margaret Furtado, 60, travelled from Rhode Island in the US to bag a day one ticket to Centre Court.

“I’ve always watched on TV and it’s always been my dream to come to Wimbledon,” she said.