Wimbledon fans have been left frustrated after spotting empty seats on Centre Court this week.
Swathes of empty spaces have been seen on Centre Court throughout the competition so far, even for key matches including Andy Murray vs John Isner and Emma Raducanu vs Caroline Garcia.
Tickets for Centre Court have been in high demand and are tough to get hold of, so fans have been left dismayed to see so many seats sitting empty.
The All England Club has received a number of complaints and BBC presenter Sue Barker acknowledged the issue when she said there were "lots of empty seats" during Raducanu's second-round match on Wednesday.
Here's why there are so many empty seats at Wimbledon this year and how you can still get hold of a ticket cheaply.
Why are there so many empty seats at Wimbledon?
Most of the empty seats that have been spotted at Centre Court are situated around the Royal Box, which is an area that's usually reserved for corporate guests as well as Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) members.
Those with hospitality tickets are able to drop in and out of matches and it's believed that the number of empty seats may down to those guests wining and dining rather than watching the tennis.
Paul Miller, founder of Eden Mill - the official gin partner to the LTA, said that hospitality tickets provide “the ability to be able to drop in and drop out of the tennis, see as much or as little as you want, and also in our case where we’re hosting a lot of guests – to be able to allow them to do as they wish”.
The Guardian reports that technical issues on the first two days of the championship also led to empty seats.
The glitches affected the re-sale of Centre Court tickets and meant that at one point, people at the front of the queue for Centre Court tickets were left waiting for more than two hours.
Cheap Wimbledon tickets
Unlike previous years, there was no Public Ballot for Wimbledon 2002. Instead, guests who were offered tickets for the cancelled 2020 Wimbledon as part of that year's ballot were offered the same day and court for this year.
However, it is still possible to get last-minute tickets for Wimbledon.
This year, spectators can join a queue at Wimbledon for tickets for that day's events. You can buy either one of the limited Show Court tickets or a Grounds Ticket.
But be warned, the queue gets very long and often starts the evening before, with tennis fans camping out to get in with a chance of securing entry the next day.
If you don't fancy queuing outside, then you can also purchase re-sale tickets for same day events online, these will be released every day on the official Wimbledon app.
The cheapest way to get into Wimbledon is to purchase a ground pass. This pass allows you to access Courts three to 19, as well as The Hill, where footage from the Centre and No.1 Courts is screened.
A ground pass costs just £27 and is reduced to £18 after 5pm, which is a significant saving on the £240 price tag that comes with some Centre Court tickets.
