How Are Seats Allocated at Wimbledon Championships?

The allocation of seats at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships is a complex process. Whether you get a ticket at all, and if you do, where you end up sitting will depend on a number of factors.

In this article we explain the various ways to obtain tickets to the Tournament, and what your options are if you want to watch the action on a specific day, specific court or from a specific seat.

Public Ballot Tickets

Every year the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) hold a Public Ballot for Wimbledon tickets. Tickets are always oversubscribed so applicants are far from guaranteed a ticket.

If your application is successful, you will be notified of the court number, date and seat number of your ticket. You can either accept or reject the tickets. Rejected tickets are re-balloted.

AELTC rules prohibit the sale or exchange of tickets obtained through the Public Ballot. If

You can only apply for one pair of tickets per household.

Read more:

How does the Wimbledon Championships Public Ballot work?

The Wimbledon Queue

The AELTC retains around 500 tickets (per court) for Centre Court, Court No.1 and Court No.2 for each day of play. These tickets are allocated to the much-loved Wimbledon Queue. Seat numbers are not known until they are allocated to people in the queue on a first come first served basis.

Competition for tickets is fierce and to be in with a real chance of seeing any matches on the Show Courts, you will probably need to camp out.

If you are prepared to join the queue early enough, you can determine which day and even which court you will end up on.

You will still have to accept whatever seat you are offered, however, and tickets cannot be swapped or exchanged with others.

Read more: The complete Wimbledon ticket queue and camping guide

Debenture tickets

Debenture ticket seats offer the best views of Centre Court or No.1 Court.

Debenture holders receive 5 years of debenture tickets on Centre Court or No.1 Court, for each day of The Championships.

Wimbledon debenture tickets are the only tickets to the Championships that are legally transferable. Most debenture holders will sell at least some of their tickets in any given year.

This means that you can purchase a ticket to either Centre Court or No.1 Court for your preferred day.

How can I choose a debenture ticket seat?

The debenture Office allocates specific seat numbers in May before the Tournament.

If you own a debenture ticket before this date, your seat will be assigned in a lottery. You could end up on any of the debenture seat rows - over the side-line or baseline

Once seats are allocated, there is typically a flurry of activity in the debenture ticket market, where specific seat tickets are bought, sold and swapped.

Which seat is best for you is subjective. Some fans prefer to be seated over the baseline - others prefer the side-line. Some prefer the sun, others prefer the shade. As such, it is not uncommon for tennis fans to buy debenture tickets well in advance of May, and then exchange tickets with other debenture ticket holders after seat allocation.

Read more: Which are the best seats at the Wimbledon Championships?

Get the ball rolling...

For an unforgettable day at The Championships 2025, find your perfect tickets here: Buy Wimbledon tickets

If you would like to sell your debenture tickets, sell your tickets here.

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"I thought I'd send you a short note to thank you for dealing so efficiently with my Wimbledon debentures in 2021. It was an easy process to sell the days I didn't want to Green and Purple and payment was made promptly. I look forward to dealing with you again in the future."

Robert MacKenzie

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