It is supposed to be one of the highlights of the British summer. But the first day of Wimbledon proved less than ideal for thousands of fans who flocked to SW19 on Monday.
Some queued for up to 10 hours to get in, rain lashed the tennis championships in short, sharp bursts, and technical problems affected television coverage of the opening matches.
Parts of the usually benign queue became fractious as play approached on Monday morning, with some fans complaining that heightened security measures – implemented in an attempt to stop Just Stop Oil protesters – had been poorly communicated and were causing long delays.
Becky Deeming, an events manager from London, said she had arrived at 3.35am but only got into the grounds at about 1.15 pm. In previous years she had managed to get in before play started at 11am, after arriving later.
“Other people who have done the queue for multiple years said that it’s never been anything like this before,” she said. “There was no communication from anywhere.”
Organisers have beefed up security measures, with staff checking every bag and carrying out body searches. Chalk dust and other powders have been banned for the first time, as organisers attempt to thwart environmental protesters. Cable ties, glue, chains and padlocks are also among 19 items on the prohibited list.
Once fans made it inside the grounds there were further delays when rain stopped play for an hour and a half during the match between Pedro Cachín of Argentina and Novak Djokovic, who is chasing a historic eighth Wimbledon title that would place him equal with Roger Federer as the joint men’s record holder.
Officials were criticised for being slow to close the roof of Centre Court, allowing the ground to become wet. On No 1 Court, where the covers were put on immediately, play was significantly less delayed.
Once the roof was on Centre Court the officials struggled to dry the wet grass. There were shouts of “Get on with it!” from the crowd, with Djokovic repeatedly checking the grass and jokingly bending down with his own towel to wipe it dry.
He applauded as staff members arrived with leaf blowers to manually dry the grass, a move met with a cheer from the waiting crowd.
The BBC also faced criticism when it failed to show the opening action of Djokovic’s first-round match because of an apparent technical problem. The match – a highlight of the opening day – was not featured on BBC Two’s coverage, and instead of the live action being streamed on the iPlayer, viewers were confronted with a black screen. A BBC spokesperson said it was “aware of a technical issue when streaming some Wimbledon matches on BBC iPlayer” but it had been fixed quickly.
Organisers apologised for the long delays, which they blamed on increased bag searches. A spokesperson said there had been a steady stream of people entering the grounds since 10am but “entry via the queue has been at a slower rate than in previous years as a result of these checks. We sincerely thank guests in the queue for their patience and understanding.”
The security arrangements were introduced after Just Stop Oil disrupted several other sporting events in recent months, including the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, the Gallagher Premiership rugby union final at Twickenham and the world snooker championship.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club chief executive, Sally Bolton, said specialist behavioural detection officers within the police would work to identify and anticipate protesters.
“As we’ve seen at other sporting events we can’t guarantee anything but we’re extremely confident that the measures we’ve got in place are the right measures and we are ready to deal with something if it happens,” she said.
“We would really appeal to those attending the championships to respect the fact that others who are coming to the championships want to view the tennis enjoyably, quietly and in a safe environment.”
Gena Smith Morgan, who had come from Atlanta to experience Wimbledon, abandoned the queue around lunchtime after more than seven hours of waiting, because of the lack of movement and updates. “It’s incredibly disappointing,” she said. “Wimbledon was a bucket list item. I love this beautiful tradition and your country. Just a total bummer that this got away from folks.”
