Tennis fans hailed Wimbledon’s “democratic” spirit on Monday after camping out for days in a bid to get their hands on a golden ticket.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams and Coco Guaff were all taking to the court on Monday as the tournament got under way, with Brits Dan Evans, Katie Swan, Liam Brody, Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart also in action.
Wimbledon remains one of the few major sporting events where tickets can be bought on the day of play, with large queues forming in the hope of bagging one of the 500 available each morning for the show courts.
The queue officially opened at 2pm on Sunday but many fans turned up more than 24 hours earlier.
First in line were Julia Barker, 47, and husband Nicky, 54, who flew over from Dublin on Friday night and started camping at 7.30am on Satuday.
Their son Dan, 23, who now lives in London, joined them to wait more than 50 hours to get prized Centre Court tickets.
Mr Barker said: “I mean our whole life is tennis. People would call us fanatics.”
His son said: “We assumed we were in the wrong place but then we realised it was because we were first. We really didn’t expect to be first. We have come a few times and done the queue but never been first.”
Karen Mardon, from Surrey, said the Wimbledon queue is “very democratic”.
Standing in line with her three friends, said: “It doesn’t mean that you only get to go because you have got lots of money.”
Katrin Causch flew in from Berlin to join the queue for Wimbledon for the fourth time, arriving at Wimbledon Park at 11pm last night equipped only with a sleeping bag and no tent.
She said the queue makes a big difference to the popularity of the tournament: “It’s just unbelievable, it’s great.
“It’s the famous tournament and they make it possible for people to queue getting tickets, instead of paying very high prices.
“It is amazing in the queue to meet people from all over the world.”
This year’s tournament will see the return of Russian and Belarusian singles players who were banned in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian players have to sign a “nationality waiver” before being allowed on court in which they pledge not to support the regime of President Putin.
However, US Open winner Emma Raducanu, 20, is out as she is injured. Controversial Australian player Nick Kyrigos, 28, also pulled out on Sunday night, with a wrist injury.
Another noticeable absence for 2023 will be Sue Barker - who stepped down from broadcasting duties last summer after 30 years. The BBC’s coverage will instead be hosted by Clare Balding.
British number one Cameron Norrie, 27, and his women’s singles counterpart Katie Boulter, 26, plus Sir Andy Murray, 36, will begin their bids on Tuesday.
Organisers were also bracing themselves for action by Just Stop Oil - the environment group that has been targeting major sporting events in recent months.
Last week, a protestor invaded the pitch during the second test of the Ashes, with others disrupting the Premiership rugby and at the World Snooker Championships earlier in the year.
Sir Andy Murray admitted there was “a good chance” Wimbledon would be targeted.
He said: “I would imagine probably something would happen here. I mean, I agree with the cause – just not always how they go about expressing it.
“Rather than running on the court, maybe they could do it a different way.”
Spectators have been advised to pack their umbrellas, with spots of rain predicted on Monday afternoon. Met Office meteorologist Amy Bokota told fans to expect a “much wetter day” on Tuesday although Wednesday, Thursday and Friday could bring better conditions.
