It’s one of the highlights of the British sporting calendar with millions across the country tuning in every day to cheer on their tennis heroes.
But when MailOnline visited SW19 on the opening day of Wimbledon, we found a legion of devoted American fans who have travelled across the Atlantic to experience tennis’s oldest Grand Slam.
In the queue at Wimbledon Park, excited Yanks brushed off the 32C ‘killer’ heatwave that has gripped the nation with hopes of making it to centre court.
Even the prospect of forking out £2.70 for strawberries and cream and £12.25 for a glass of Pimm’s didn’t deter them.
The sudden influx of American tennis fanatics is a sign on the enduring popularity and international appeal of the quintessentially British event.
Last year, the Championships were streamed live by more than 26million Americans, the highest number since 2019.
A group of six best friends, hailing from Florida, New Jersey and Texas, flew eight-and-a-half hours to London to especially for the occasion.
Donning matching custom T-shirts, emblazoned with ‘Balls, Bubbles and Besties’, the women joined the long, winding non-ticket holder queue at 7am yesterday.
Having already been waiting four hours, Laurie, Jennie, Amy, Sandra, Lydia and Lindy were all in high spirits, even after being told they faced another three hours before reaching the front.
One group of six best friends from the US were set for another two or three hours in the queue after joining at 7am and flying eight and a half hours to the UK (Pictured: Laurie, Jennie, Amy, Sandra, Lydia and Lindy)
Elsewhere in Queue Village, Aaron and Anna-Marie (pictured) from Florida donned classic Wimbledon whites and lounged in the sun
Tennis fans line up hoping for admission on the first day of the 2025 Wimbledon tournament
‘It’s the first time for some of us, some of us have been a few times, but Lindy is a vet,’ Lydia said.
She added: ‘We can’t wait for the games and we are rooting for Coco Gauff.’
The 21-year-old, who is famous for having beaten Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019, is one of 35 American players in the singles draw this year – providing plenty of homegrown talent for US attendees to support.
One of the best friends, Jennie, said: ‘We’ve been queuing since 7am and we are hoping to get in there today.
‘We’re want to attend for the next three days so we will be queuing up every day.’
Whilst Brits melted in the heat, fanning themselves and swigging bottles of water, the group of best friends were unbothered.
‘We’re from Florida, so the heat is fine for us,’ said Jennie. ‘But we were not expecting this in England. We have our umbrellas for shade and plenty booze and card games. We’ve already had three bottles of bubbly so far this morning!’
Elsewhere in Queue Village, Aaron and Anna-Marie from Florida donned classic Wimbledon whites and lounged in the sun.
The married couple landed in the UK yesterday morning after making the seven-and a-half-hour flight to attend the Grand Slam’s opening day.
Having joined crowds at many sporting events back home, tennis was the only sport they had not yet seen live and in-person.
Tennis fans protect themselves from the sun as they queued for tickets under the blistering sun
Also there yesterday were Bart, Kiah and Cohen, who travelled from Milwaukee in the US and have been crossing Europe for the past fortnight – and who mingled with Britons Brad and Ben
Fans faced a long wait to enter the grounds amid the record opening day temperatures yesterday
Aaron said it was something they wanted to tick off their ‘bucket list’ and when considering choosing Wimbledon, they both said: ‘Let’s go.’
They too were unfazed by the high tempratures and humidity, with Aaron declaring: ‘We’re from Florida, it’s easy.’
The glamorous pair flew back to the States this morning having made the 15-hour round trip just to spend the day at Wimbledon.
Cohen, Kiah and Bart travelled from Milwaukee in the US and have been on a tour around Europe for the past fortnight.
Bart decided to add Wimbledon as a last minute pit stop after starting in Switzerland and travelling through France to Britain – having last come to Wimbledon five years ago but wanting to return ever since.
He described how he took another two days off work with permission from his boss to come to the event, adding: ‘It was her idea.
‘I told her about the trip and I said, ‘If i was to stay two days longer to go to Wimbledon…’ and she said, ‘Then you go to Wimbledon!’.’
The trio, who were shading themselves under Union Jack umbrellas, had befriended Brits Ben and Brad sat next to them in the line.
Last year, the Championships were streamed live by more than 26million Americans, the highest number since 2019, which may explain the uptake in visitors this year
Aiden, Abigail and Mary McGovern and Alice and Maureen Curtis (pictured) pitched up their tent yesterday morning with hopes of making it in to today’s games
Fans in the queue were faced with intense heat with temperatures reaching 32C yesterday
Some tennis fans in the queue took to using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun
Over at the camping queue, another group of Americans explained how they flew six and a half hours from their home states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Buffalo, New York, especially for Wimbledon.
Aiden, Abigail and Mary McGovern and Alice and Maureen Curtis pitched up their tent yesterday morning with hopes of making it in to today’s games.
‘I think flying here for Wimbledon started off as a joke,’ Aiden said.
Alice, who plays tennis competitively back home in the states, said: ‘My daughter actually lives in London and I was already planning to come and visit her. Then I read about the queue and I said we should come over and do it!’
Speaking about the 32C heat yesterday, Aiden said: ‘We just had a heatwave back home, so this is a breeze in the park for us.’
The tennis fanatics said are rooting for Coco Guaff, Jessica Pegula and Carlos Alcaraz.
Aiden added: ‘I’d like to see Shelton get far this year too! We’ve gotta root for the Americans, of course!’
Alice said she was surprised how ‘easy’ the process of setting up their camp was and Abigail was impressed with how ‘well organised’ it all is.
‘Our flat is just a short walk away, so we headed over, asked two people for help and they told us “Just walk until you see the flag and the tents and have a goodnight!”,’ Aiden explained.
They were passing the time with card games and planned to ‘do shifts in the tent’, adding: ‘Whoever pulls the short straw has to sleep outside.’
This years influx of American tennis fans comes after last year’s Championships reached the highest viewing numbers on TV since 2019.
ESPN’s coverage of the ladies’ singles final attracted just over 2 million viewers, a 40 per cent increase from 2023, whilst the gentlemen’s singles final had a peak audience of 3.2 million.
