Wimbledon First-Week Attendance Slips Due To Rain

LONDON — The All-England Club is not concerned that supporters will miss Wimbledon due to England’s performance in the European Championship.

However, the rain tells a different narrative.

Wimbledon | AP News Image

Wimbledon First-Week Attendance Slips Due To Rain

Rain disrupted play on numerous days at the grass-court Grand Slam, resulting in a 3.7% drop in Week One attendance compared to the previous year. Friday’s attendance was the lowest on a first Friday since 1998, omitting the pandemic-restricted 2021 tournament.

“This year’s weather has been so variable and so bad at times that I think at the moment our assessment is that it’s almost certainly the weather that’s impacting (attendance),” Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, said Monday as the tournament began its second week.

A total of 36,630 fans attended on Friday, when rain delayed the start of play by two hours and prevented matches from taking place on the outer courts in the evening. According to official tournament data, excluding 2021, that was the lowest for a first Friday since 34,945 in 1998. The corresponding figure from last year was 42,279.

Wimbledon might easily sell out in advance sales, but tickets are reserved for day-of sales for supporters in the famed Queue.

“It’s such an important part of the Championships, primarily to protect accessibility, and so we accept that in retaining the Queue, we are adding in some ambiguity about the numbers of people who get through on the grounds,” Bolton informed the crowd. “And of course the weather has been so terrible.”

The total for Week One this year was 282,955, which was 10,726 less than the previous year.

On Sunday, No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev stated that he “didn’t get to warm up today before the match because it was raining.” He played on No. 1 Court, which, like Centre Court, features a retractable roof.

If weather continues to hamper play this week, juniors’ matches could be moved indoors. Bolton explained that the competition has already cut the early rounds of mixed doubles to two sets and a tiebreaker.

Wimbledon | AP News Image

Wimbledon First-Week Attendance Slips Due To Rain

England has advanced to the Euro 2024 semifinals and will face the Netherlands on Wednesday.

“I’m not concerned about a football impact,” Bolton remarked. “At this point I’m concerned about it still being raining on Wednesday.”

SOURCE – (AP)