Behind the scenes at Wimbledon – Tennis365 gets an exclusive peak inside the All England Club
Tennis365 has had an access all areas pass for Wimbledon over the last two weeks and now we can reveal some of the secrets behind the greatest tournament in tennis.
From our seat in the Centre Court press box, we have seen some of the all-time greats of the game playing out some of the most iconic matches of the year.
Yet away from the spotlight of the TV camera’s there is a whole different world that the general public don’t get a chance to see and here is our ‘Behind the Scenes’ guide to Wimbledon.
All England Club
It may be the iconic stage for the greatest tennis tournament of them all, it’s also a tennis club that has just 385 members. That number is set by tradition, as that was the capacity of the stand at the venue for the tennis tournament that was initially held at Worple Road, before the event moved to its current location at Church Road in 1922.
The 385 members do not include winners of the Wimbledon Championships, as they get honorary membership that grants them access to the club all year around, allowing them to stage business meetings and host lunches.
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The Numbers
Around 8,000 and 10,000 staff and contractors have been working on the preparations and delivery of this year’s Wimbledon, with the financial turnover for the 14-day tournament certain to top £400m (€470m) once again this year.
Profits from that hefty income will be well over £100m, with around half of that going to the players in prize money and the rest going to Lawn Tennis Association, with the aim of funding the infrastructure and development of tennis in Britain.
Mega Money
Corporate hospitality is a key source of revenue for Wimbledon and there are several options available for those who have deep pockets.
You need to invest around £2,500 to enjoy a top tier hospitality experience at Wimbledon that will include a full lunch, an all-inclusive bar and prime Centre Court or No.1 Court tickets.
Debenture tickets are another lucrative source of revenue, with what are essentially Wimbledon season tickets sold for a vast up-front fee that comes with the offer to recoup some of that investment as debenture seats can be resold on the secondary market.
Currently, a full five-year centre court debenture (2026–2030) has an official issue price of £116,000 per seat.
Yet because demand is exceptionally high, they are actively trading on the open secondary market for between £290,000 and £380,000 per seat, with pairs of seats recently commanding up to an eye-watering £586,000.
In a summer when the price of watching sport has been highlighted by some of the ridiculous prices being paid to watch the World Cup, Wimbledon remains one of the more affordable elite-level sporting events to attend.
A £33 ground-pass ticket gets you access to the site and gives you a chance to watch top-quality action when the outside courts are busy in the opening week, with the cost of watching the men’s and women’s quarter-finals with a regular ticket on Centre Court set at around £250.
Media Centre
It’s not just the high-paying ticket holders who get the royal treatment when they get inside the gates, as the media facilities at Wimbledon are also in a league of their own.
The media centre is a three-storey complex housing thousands of accredited print, broadcast and digital media, with the broadcast roof providing a stunning backdrop for broadcasters hosting interviews with players and their coaches.
The media restaurant is a stunning facility that offers accredited media food on demand and they don’t even have to pay out of their own pockets, with their press passes giving them a healthy budget to cover at least two meals per day.
Pizza and pasta stations offer food cooked to order, and there is also a vast salad bar, sandwiches and free drinks on offer in the writing rooms.
In total, there are 55 kitchens cooking meals every day at The Championships, with staff and visitors lapping up a variety of fine dining.
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