Full Capacities Return... To The Tennis At Least!

Women's tennis match at Wimbledon The grass court tennis championships at Wimbledon will host full capacity crowds for the final rounds, from the quarter-finals onwards on centre court and court one from this coming Tuesday. Centre Court will hold around 15,000 spectators and Court one will host 12,345 fans as Wimbledon reaches its climax.

It will be the second major sporting event in the UK to host full capacity crowds in nearly 18 months, after pandemic-enforced limits on social gatherings. The first being the Snooker world championship final in the Crucible in Sheffield.

The tennis tournament in SouthWest London is part of the of the government's Events Research Programme (ERP), with stands in the first week of the event allowed to operate at 50% capacity and fans able to remove their masks in the stadiums.

Capacity across the rest of the All England Club will be reduced as less courts are used as the tournament progresses.



In a statement, organisers said: "Following the successful staging of the first week of The Championships, as agreed with the government's Events Research Programme and in consultation with our local authority in Merton, the AELTC is pleased to confirm that Centre and No1 Court will feature 100% capacity crowds for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. This marks the first full outdoor stadiums at a sporting event in the UK since the pandemic began. Capacity across the rest of the grounds will be reduced according to the number of courts in play. Ticket-holders will continue to be required to show proof of their COVID status on arrival, and are asked to observe the guidance around wearing face coverings on the move and supporting any additional mitigation measures in place."

Those attending the competition must be either fully vaccinated (received both jabs and waited at least two weeks), have proof of a negative COVID test, or have immunity from a recent infection.

This positive news comes in the same week as Wembley Stadium increases its capacity to 75% for the semi-final and final of the Euro 2020 tournament, as part of the same scheme. Around 67,500 people will be inside the 90,000 capacity venue when England take on Denmark on Wednesday night, July 7th.

This will be the largest single crowd in a UK venue since the beginning of the pandemic. It comes ahead of the delayed so-called 'Freedom Day' on 19th July, where it is thought that most legal limits on social gatherings will be lifted across England, to allow hospitality, sporting and performance venues welcome full capacity crowds back.