Luxury Wimbledon

Rob Baedeker June 28, 2007

 

Centre court in style

David Wheaton remembers the moment in 1991, before his first match on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, against Ivan Lendl. Two large, wood double doors flanked by trophy cases led the way out. “On the walls,” he said, “were the annals of the past champions.” And above the doors were inscribed words from a Rudyard Kipling poem: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same...”

Wheaton triumphed over Lendl—as well as Andre Agassi—that year and has been back to play since (most recently in last year’s over-35 doubles). He says there is a special atmosphere on the main stage of this most hallowed of tennis destinations. Stepping onto Centre Court, Wheaton says, you feel like “you’re in some sort of cathedral. You come in and there’s this silence—there’s a reverence. Even the sound of the ball off the racquet has a sort of hushed echo.”

Those who’ve witnessed the action from outside the white lines also speak of Wimbledon’s special silence. “The best part of Centre Court is the intimacy and quiet,” says Joel Drucker, contributing editor to Tennis magazine and author of Jimmy Connors Saved My Life, who has been attending Wimbledon for more than a decade.

“The fans are all paying rapt attention. It’s not like some other sporting events, where you have these luxury boxes where people are watching a game on monitors or talking on cell phones. At Wimbledon, they’re are all watching the tennis.”

According to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (the private Wimbledon club’s official moniker), the annual two weeks of championship play at the end of June and beginning of July have developed from a “garden party atmosphere of the first meeting in 1877, witnessed by a few hundred spectators, to a highly professional tournament attracting an attendance of close to 500,000 people.”

Indeed, there’s little argument about Wimbledon’s status and prestige. “Wimbledon is all about age, history and tradition,” says British tennis journalist Alix Ramsay, who has covered the grand match for numerous publications, including The Times of London and Tennis Life magazine. “Wimbledon is tennis,” she says. “Almost every player wants to win the Championships at the All England Club because this is the heart of the game.”

To get close to that heart, eager fans queue up at dawn for the few hundred tickets made available daily to the public. Those with the means have purchased debentures— allotments of prime seats that go on sale every five years and come with bonus amenities like access to Debenture Holders’ lounges and exclusive dining facilities. The 2007-11 debenture lots are sold out, but they’re legally resalable, and the Saturday Financial Times lists the going rate.

Many well-heeled travelers prefer to make a home base out of one of the luxury hospitality complexes near the courts. Jeff Hunter, Group Operations Director for Sportsworld Group Ltd., which is appointed by the All England Club to sell Official Wimbledon packages to North America, says that a typical day for one of its luxury-package customers might include a chauffeured ride to Fairway Village, Sportsworld’s luxury complex, where champagne and canapes are served on arrival and a full-course a la carte menu follows for lunch.

Guests can then head to the courts to take in a few matches, which start in the early afternoon, and return to Fairway for tea (which, at Wimbledon, traditionally includes strawberries and cream). Then it’s back to the courts for more tennis, and perhaps a post-match cocktail at the hospitality suite. This year, says Hunter, those who pay for the top-dollar Sportsworld package will enjoy a Q&A and autograph-signing with stars Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

While much of the Wimbledon spotlight is trained on the “show courts” (Centre Court, No. 1 and No. 2), Drucker and Wheaton remind prospective visitors not to overlook the action taking place at some of the peripheral matches. “In some of the outside courts, you can get a good spot and be up close to the action,” says Wheaton, who also recommends checking out the pros practicing at Aorangi Park, just north of Centre Court.

This year the hallowed main stage at Wimbledon is stripped of its awnings as a result of renovations that will include a sliding roof, ready for 2009. Those who cherish memories of the hushed echoes at Centre Court are hoping it will retain that special silence. “The old place was one of the best venues in the world,” says Alix Ramsay. “When the umpire said 'play', you could hear an eyelid blink as the server began his preparations.”

Read on for ten ways to to savor the silence of Wimbledon in style.

See our slideshow of Luxury Wimbledon.

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