Courts of appeal: sport reaps rewards of fans' Fomo

The adage used to be that you just needed to beat the first Tube.

- Jessy Parker Humphreys

If you could grab your spot in the Wimbledon queue before the District line started ferrying people into Southfields, you stood a good chance of getting into the All England Club before play began.

Getting a ticket for a show court was unlikely, but a grounds pass - which costs £33 in 2026 — would suffice.

This year, however, “queue fever” has exploded. For a shot at a Centre Court ticket (£80-£350, depending on the day and seat), you not only have to give up your evening to camp overnight but also give up the end of your afternoon too. By 5.15pm last Thursday, 1,482 people were already in the queue for Friday, more than 1,000 more than there were at the equivalent time in 2023.

By 5.30am on Friday, before that all-important first Tube had even arrived, the queue had grown to more than 8,000 people. An hour later, new arrivals were being put in the reserve queue, meaning there was no guaranteed entry.