Wimbledon 2023: Tickets, Pimm’s, strawberries and the cost of a day at SW19

From strawberries and Pimm’s, after navigating the queue, Jamie Braidwood looks at how fans can make the most of the Championships

The price of a Pimm’s has not deterred the crowds at Wimbledon during the opening week. By midday on Monday, the tent on Henman Hill was doing a healthy trade, ensuring punters could make their way around the grounds with reusable cup in hand – even at £11.20 a glass. On the pristine fresh lawn, blankets and hampers were unfurled as corks were popped: a bottle of Lanson Le Black Label Brut Champagne costs £87 at Wimbledon, but visitors to the All England Club want to look and feel part of the tournament as much as watching the tennis, soaking in its tradition and history.

Even a cost of living crisis has not stopped the great British picnic from getting under way in record numbers. The opening few days drew the tournament’s biggest attendance since 2015, with more than 11,000 people coming through the queue to join those already with tickets to Centre Court and the other show courts. Inside the grounds, the meticulously kept paths and walkways, lined with blooming hanging baskets, heaved with men in crisp linen shirts and women in summer dresses.

Above, the private hospitality balconies and rooftops swilled with guests looking to indulge in fine dining. At the Centenary Seafood Bar, caviar is on the menu at £30, while a platter of hand-carved devon crab and salmon and cream cheese roulade is available for £70. At times, Wimbledon can feel in a different world to most other events, let alone in sport.

While the price of strawberries and cream (plant-based, vegan-friendly cream is now available) remains frozen for a tenth consecutive year – locked in an inflation-proof bubble at £2.50 – other items at Wimbledon are getting more and more expensive. On the grounds, a pint of beer sets you back £7.55 and a single gin and tonic is £10. In the Wimbledon shop, which at times seems the most packed area at the club, fans shuffle between rows of £135 Ralph Lauren polo shirts, £39 Wimbledon towels and £120 panama hats. Ironically, the must-have item of the summer, Evian’s new refillable water bottle that all players are using this year, is not available for purchase.

Fans claim a place on the hill after arriving early on Monday (Getty)

Panama hats are available for a hair-raising £120 in the Wimbledon shop (Getty)

Then there are the tickets: a place on Centre Court costs £80 on the opening two days of the tournament, a price that increases throughout the fortnight until peaking at £255 for the men’s and women’s finals. Getting into the grounds themselves costs £27 during the first week, although many will point out the excellent value that presents given the amount of high-quality tennis that is played on the outside courts in the opening rounds of the men’s and women’s singles.

It’s undoubtedly an expensive day out, even before factoring in accommodation and travel costs for those who don’t live within the London area. The appetite for Wimbledon, though, remains as strong as ever. The queue in Wimbledon Park reached capacity by Monday morning – those who were not up at the crack of dawn were left disappointed. The first arrivals had already staked their position from as early as Saturday morning in order to be assured a place on Centre Court, and a match that would be starting more than 48 hours later. Despite the cost and limited availability, Wimbledon remains unique in that if you have the time, the means and the will, tickets remain available before each day’s play.

The queue for strawberries and cream, whose price has been frozen for a 13th year (Getty)

The opening days of Wimbledon have seen its biggest crowds since 2015 (Getty)

Don’t underestimate the extent to which people will go in order for the chance to take a seat in a theatre of such sporting history, but money is undoubtedly a barrier. There are ways to reduce expenditure and get around the costs, though. You can clearly identify those who have done this before, the experienced Wimbledon diehards who arrive perfectly in time to claim the best seats or picnic benches on the hill, before unfurling Tupperware lunchboxes packed with ham and cheese rolls, bags of crisps and sprawling spreads of olives and pots of dips. Fans can also bring their own drinks, with a limit of one bottle of wine or champagne (750ml) or two cans of beer (500ml) or two cans of premixed aperitifs per person. The line, however, is drawn at bottles of spirits or fortified wine.

The cost of Wimbledon – drinks menu

Stella Artois (pint) – £7.55

Pimm’s (reusable glass) – £11.20

Pimm’s (jug) – £32.60

Red or white wine (bottle) – £30.30

Gin and tonic (single) – £10

Sipsmith Blood Orange Spritz – £12

Lanson Le Black Label Brut Champagne – £87

Wimbledon food and drink stats (2022)

49,942 kilos of strawberries

11,384 litres of cream

338,082 glasses of Pimm’s

249,710 portions of strawberries and cream

Wimbledon, really, is just the same as any other major event: prices will be just as extortionate whether it’s Glastonbury or Royal Ascot, but there are certainly other options to soak in the experience and atmosphere on a relative budget. To many, the cost is also worth it to simply be at Wimbledon. This year’s prize for the first people in the queue went to the Barker family from Dublin, who arrived at 7am on Saturday in the hope of getting onto Centre Court for a match that would not be starting until Monday lunchtime. “Being there, especially on the first day, the fresh grass, the atmosphere, it’s so perfect,” they said. “We don’t need any five-star holiday. It’s worth it.”