Wimbledon continues commercialisation of ‘the Queue’ with new ‘Activation Zone’

The queue remains something of an anomaly within the world of professional sport. It often starts forming on the Friday before Wimbledon begins, some 70-odd hours ahead of the opening of the match courts on the first Monday. The first brave souls erect tents on the fringes of what used to be Wimbledon Park Golf Course, but is now the projected – and contested – site of Wimbledon’s future qualifying event.

“Something happens in SW19 when you get in that queue,” writes Chatfield in his book. “It’s the sense of what might be, what might happen, of stories not yet written.”

Among the other subjects covered in Thursday’s Wimbledon briefing was the health of the All England Club’s patron, the Duchess of Cambridge, who normally presents the singles trophies on finals weekend.

Asked whether the Duchess is expected to attend, the AELTC’s new chair Debbie Jevans replied “Our priority is clearly that our patron has the time to recover, and we’re certainly not going to add any additional pressure on her recovery by speculating on our attendance at this year’s Championships.

“When it comes to the presentation ceremony, as in previous years, we will announce those that are going to be a part of that ceremony on the morning of the finals,” Jevans added. “So nothing’s changed in that regard.”

Also in the Wimbledon briefing, the AELTC announced that prizemoney will be £50m this year, up from £44.7m in 2023. That adds up to an increase of 12 per cent.

The two champions will each receive £2.7m while qualifying prizemoney has been boosted 15 per cent to £4.8m, and the fund for the wheelchair events has reached £1m for the first time.