How Many Courts does Wimbledon Have? What's the difference?

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) was founded in 1868 and over its 150 year history has grown to become a state of the art sporting facility.

Wimbledon’s grounds are spread across 42 acres and consist of a total of 55 tennis courts, including the 19 grass Championship tennis courts we see in use each year at The Championships.

The Show Courts

Centre Court

Boasting a spectator capacity of 14,979, Centre Court is the largest court at Wimbledon.

Built in 1922, when the AELTC relocated from Worple Road to its current site at Church Road, Centre Court quickly established itself as the central focus of The Championships, hosting the highest profile matches.

Both the men’s and women’s singles finals are held on Centre Court.

Centre Court was bombed during the Second World War and wasn’t fully repaired until 1949. Since then it has undergone numerous refurbishments; the largest of which took place in 2009 when the AELTC added the famous retractable roof.

No. 1 Court

No. 1 Court is the second biggest stadium at the AELTC and the newest to be built. It was opened in 1997.

The new No.1 Court stadium is located to the north of Centre Court. It replaced the original No.1 Court which was attached to the west side of Centre Court.

In 2019, the AELTC installed a retractable roof to No.1 Court and added 1,000 new seats to the stadium. This expanded its spectator capacity to 12,345.

No. 2 Court

The third largest court at The Championships, No.2 Court was refurbished in 2009 and was rebuilt on the old site of Court 13 which was previously known as ‘The Graveyard.’

No. 2 Court now seats 4,000 spectators and has earned itself the nickname as ‘The Graveyard of Champions’ as many great champions, including Yvonne Goolagong Cawley, Virginia Wade, Pete Samprass, and Serena Williams have all been beaten on this court.

No.3 Court

Opened in 2009 on the site of the old No.2 Court, No.3 has been known to be one of the most entertaining courts where almost anything can happen.

In 2017, Kim Clijsters invited a spectator onto the court, dressed him in one of her spare white skirts and asked him to play a point against her. After managing to pull on the skirt, he obliged and faced two points from the Belgian before vacating the court.

Courts 12 and 18

The two final show courts at Wimbledon are courts 12 and 18, which provide some of the most amazing views at The Championships.

Court 12 boasts a mini-stadium with a capacity of 1,736 spectators, with its stands providing some of the best views over the outside courts and fantastic vistas onto the City of London in the backdrop.

Court 18 is situated at the other end of the grounds and is dug into the foot of Henman Hill, making this court perhaps the most unique stadium at The Championships. Here you’ll also find a plaque commemorating the longest ever tennis match ever played, which took place on Court 11 between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2011 and lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes.

Outside Courts

Situated on the north and south sides of Centre Court are Wimbledon’s outdoor courts. They include Courts 4 -17 and Court 19, situated on the east side of No.1 Court.

Climbing up to one of the terraced bars on Centre Court will give you a good view of action taking place across the outside courts, or if you’re making your way past, why not slip in and get a good view of the action taking place.

You do not need a specific seat reservation to sit at one of Wimbledon’s outside courts.

Are there any other courts at Wimbledon?

While most Tournament visitors will only see Wimbledon’s 19 Championship courts, the AELTC actually has a further 22 grass practice courts in Aorangi Park on the north side of the Grounds.

The Club also boasts eight clay courts, five indoor courts and two acrylic courts, meaning that there are a total of 55 courts at The Championships.

Which court will I end up on?

If you win the Public Ballot or the Second Ballot, you could end up watching the show on Centre Court, Court No. 1 or Court No. 2.

Similarly, if you have the constitution to camp out in the famous Wimbledon Queue, you could end up on Centre Court, Court No. 1 or Court No. 2.

The most exclusive way to watch the action is with a Wimbledon Debenture ticket on Centre Court, Court No. 1 - seated on the same level as the Royal Box.

You could also get into the Tournament with a Ground Pass which, availability permitting, could get you into any of unreserved courts (Courts 3 to 19).

Secure your place at the 2023 Championships now

We currently have Wimbledon Debenture Tickets available to buy for Centre Court and No.1 Court, for every day of the 2023 Championships.

To get the ball rolling:

• Email: service@greenandpurple.com or
• Complete our: online call-back form.