🎾 Wimbledon: More Than Just Tennis!

👕 White Clothes Only!

At Wimbledon, players must wear white. Not cream. Not light grey. Only bright white. Even their underwear has to be white!

Once, Roger Federer had to change his shoes because the soles were orange. That’s how serious the rule is.

(Although this year I did see one woman player wearing brown shorts under her white skirt and nobody made her change 😊)

🍓 Strawberries and Cream, Please

When people go to Wimbledon, they eat strawberries with cream. A lot of them! Every year, fans eat over 38,000 kilos of strawberries and 10,000 litres of cream

No one really knows why, it’s just tradition. But it’s delicious, and it feels like summer in Britain, and this year we really have a summer with the heatwave!

🧒 Ball Boys and Girls: Not Just Kids

The teenagers who collect the tennis balls are called Ball Boys and Ball Girls (BBGs). They don’t just show up. They are carefully selected and they train for months! They must be fast, focused, and quiet. It’s almost like being in the army.

They roll balls perfectly, stand still like statues, and never smile during a match! It’s very impressive.

🐦 Rufus the Hawk

Wimbledon has a real hawk named Rufus. He flies around the courts in the morning to scare away pigeons. He has been there since 2008 when Pete Sampras had to fight against pigeons in the final at critical points in the match!

Rufus is very famous. He even has his own Twitter account. He’s part of the Wimbledon team!

🌧️ Rain, Rain, Go Away

In Britain, it rains a lot, even in summer. Wimbledon is famous for its rain delays. Before 2009, there was no roof, so people had to wait (sometimes for hours!).

But fans didn’t mind. They sat with umbrellas, drinking tea or Pimms, enjoying the day anyway. Very British! Now they have a roof on the first and centre courts.

🤫 Peace and quiet

At Wimbledon, it’s quiet. You won’t hear loud music or see big advertisements. No dancing mascots or shouting announcers. It’s very English!

It’s all about respect for the game. Very different from most sports today!

⛺ Join “The Queue”

If you want a ticket for Wimbledon, you can’t just buy one online. Many people wait in line in “The Queue” for hours or even overnight!

Some bring tents and camp outside. It’s super organized. You even get a Queue Card with your number. It’s a very British experience! This year one guy camped for two days to get tickets to get into the grounds and then entered a virtual queue for the centre court where he was lucky enough to get a centre court ticket for 15 pounds to see the match with Carlos Alcatraz and the Brit Olivier Tarvet 😊

🌱 The Grass is Special

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament played on grass. The grass is very short, only 8 millimetres tall! There’s a special team that takes care of it every day. The English are well known for their beautiful lawns.

After the tournament ends, they re-seed the grass and start again for next year. It’s a big job!

So yes, Wimbledon is about amazing tennis. But it’s also about strange rules, fun traditions, and a lot of British charm. It’s not just a sports event, it’s a unique part of culture.