How Do You Join the All England Lawn Tennis Club?

Joining the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club is very different from joining an ordinary tennis club. Membership is tightly limited and Wimbledon does not advertise a general public application process.

The Club currently has five categories of membership: Full, Life, Honorary, Temporary and Junior Temporary Members. Full, Life and Honorary Members together are limited to 500.

If your main objective is simply to attend Wimbledon with premium seats and facilities, you do not need to become a Club Member. Wimbledon debenture tickets are available to members of the public through the resale market.

What Is the All England Lawn Tennis Club?

The private members' club is formally called The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Limited.

It was founded in 1868 as The All England Croquet Club. Lawn tennis was subsequently added, with the first Wimbledon Championship held in 1877.

The Club's activities as a private members' club are conducted separately from the organisation responsible for running The Championships.

Strictly speaking, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) Limited, commonly referred to by Wimbledon as the AELTC, conducts the day-to-day operation of The Championships. It is wholly owned by the Club.

Wimbledon's official About the AELTC page explains the current structure.

How Many Members Does the All England Club Have?

Wimbledon currently lists five membership categories:

Full, Life and Honorary Members together are limited to 500.

Temporary and Junior Temporary Members sit outside that 500-member limit.

Can Anyone Apply to Become a Full Member?

There is no public online application form through which somebody can simply apply for Full Membership.

The Club is highly selective and its current public information does not set out the detailed nomination and election procedure for Full Members.

Older reports have described a system involving support from existing Members and progression through Club membership, but Wimbledon does not currently publish those detailed requirements publicly. We would therefore not rely on historic figures for the number of sponsors required, length of membership or waiting-list size.

The important point is that Full Membership is not an ordinary paid membership that can simply be purchased.

What Is Temporary Membership?

Temporary Membership provides perhaps the clearest publicly described route into active Club life.

Wimbledon says Temporary Members are elected from year to year and are generally active tennis players who:

• make regular use of the Club's facilities; and
• play in matches during their period of membership.

Temporary Membership is therefore not simply a waiting-list membership or a way of obtaining Wimbledon tickets. Active participation in the sporting life of the Club is central to the way Wimbledon describes it.

The Club does not currently publish a public application form or detailed eligibility criteria for Temporary Membership on wimbledon.com.

What Is Junior Temporary Membership?

Junior Temporary Membership is a separate category for younger members of the Club.

Like Temporary Membership, it forms part of the Club's active sporting membership rather than the capped group of Full, Life and Honorary Members.

Wimbledon does not currently publish detailed public application criteria for Junior Temporary Membership, so prospective applicants should not rely on unofficial age limits or application procedures published elsewhere without checking them with the Club.

What Is an Honorary Member?

Honorary Membership is quite different from applying to join a conventional tennis club.

Wimbledon says its Honorary Members include:

• past Wimbledon Singles Champions;
• other eminent lawn tennis players;
• benefactors of the Club or The Championships; and
• people who have rendered special service to lawn tennis.

Honorary Membership is therefore recognition conferred by the Club rather than a membership category somebody can simply apply for.

Do Wimbledon Champions Automatically Become Members?

Past Singles Champions feature prominently among the Club's Honorary Members, which explains the familiar joke that the easiest way to join the All England Club is to win Wimbledon.

However, it is better not to describe winning the tournament as an automatic membership process. Wimbledon's current public information says that Honorary Members include past Singles Champions rather than setting out an automatic entitlement following victory.

Honorary Membership can also be awarded to other eminent players and people who have made an important contribution to tennis.

What Is a Life Member?

Life Membership is one of the five official membership categories and forms part of the 500-member combined limit for Full, Life and Honorary Members.

Wimbledon does not currently publish detailed public eligibility or application rules for Life Membership.

We would therefore avoid treating it as a membership category that members of the public can independently apply for.

What Do All England Club Members Get?

Membership is about much more than attending The Championships.

The All England Club operates throughout the year as an active tennis and croquet club. Wimbledon says its courts, apart from the grass courts, are used throughout the year by Club Members and LTA-sponsored players.

The grass courts are generally in use from May to September, although Centre Court and the other Show Courts are reserved for The Championships.

Wimbledon currently describes the Club as holding almost 200 events each year for Members and their guests.

Membership benefits and access vary according to membership category.

Do Members Get Wimbledon Tickets?

Members have extensive privileges during The Championships, but these differ according to membership category and should not be reduced to a simple statement that every Member receives the same tickets.

Wimbledon's published Members' guidance shows that Members have access to The Championships and the Members' Enclosure, with different arrangements applying to Full, Honorary, Temporary and Junior Temporary Members.

For example, access to Members' Stands on the Show Courts is primarily for Full and Honorary Members and LTA Councillors, while Temporary Members may use available Members' Stand seats subject to the Club's arrangements.

Full and Honorary Members also have access to additional ticket-request arrangements.

These are private membership privileges and should not be confused with Wimbledon debenture rights.

Can Members Play on Centre Court?

Not as part of ordinary year-round Club play.

Wimbledon states that Centre Court and the other Show Courts are used only for The Championships.

Other grass courts are available to Club Members during the grass-court season, generally from May to September.

Wimbledon provided a good illustration of this in 2026: by the Tuesday following Finals Weekend, its groundstaff were already preparing grass courts for Club Members to use again.

Does Owning a Wimbledon Debenture Make You a Member?

No. Owning a Wimbledon debenture does not make you a member of the All England Club.

A debenture is a five-year financial security issued by The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc. It carries specified Championship Privileges, including rights to debenture tickets.

Club membership is an entirely separate relationship with The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Limited.

Read what is a Wimbledon debenture? for an explanation of the underlying security.

Do You Need to Be a Member to Buy Debenture Tickets?

No.

This is an important distinction if your interest in membership is primarily about experiencing Wimbledon.

Wimbledon debenture ticket holders can enjoy:

• a reserved Centre Court or No.1 Court seat;
• access to the relevant debenture restaurants, bars and lounges;
• admission to the wider Wimbledon Grounds; and
• the ability to buy legally resold Wimbledon tickets on the open market.

You do not become a Club Member, and you do not gain the year-round rights enjoyed by Members, but you can experience many of the premium elements of a Wimbledon day without joining the Club.

See what is included with a Wimbledon debenture ticket? for the full distinction.

Can the Public Use the All England Club?

The All England Club is a private members' club, so the public cannot generally use its tennis, croquet, dining and member facilities.

However, members of the public can visit Wimbledon outside The Championships through the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and organised Grounds Tours.

During The Championships, spectators can enter with the appropriate ticket but that does not make them Club Members or provide access to private Members' facilities.

See our guide to visiting the Wimbledon Grounds throughout the year.

So, How Do You Join the All England Club?

There is no straightforward public application route comparable with joining a normal tennis club.

What Wimbledon currently confirms is:

• there are five membership categories;
• Full, Life and Honorary Membership is capped at a combined 500;
• Honorary Members include past Singles Champions and others recognised for their contribution to tennis; and
• Temporary Members are elected annually and are generally active players who regularly use the Club and represent it in matches.

Wimbledon does not currently publish the detailed nomination or election requirements for Full, Life, Temporary or Junior Temporary Membership on its public website.

For the most authoritative current information, see Wimbledon's official information about the All England Club.

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