Tennis fanatics have described how it would have been “easier to run a marathon” than queue for Wimbledon as they lined up overnight on the hottest day of the year.
Wimbledon nearly saw its hottest day ever as temperatures reached 34.2C by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, edging closer to the tournament’s record high of 35.7C set in 2015.
Fans braved the heat and waited overnight for the second day of Wimbledon, equipped with champagne, umbrellas and strawberries.
Hundreds slowly shuffled through Wimbledon Park, with many taking extra precautions after a woman fainted in the heat during Carlos Alcaraz’s match on Centre Court on Monday.
Zoe, who did not want to give her surname as she had bunked off work to watch the tennis, told the Standard the queue was a once-in-a-lifetime experience but said “she wouldn’t do it again”.
She explained: “It would have been easier to run a marathon. It was part of the experience. If I had not known better, I would have been sweltering.
“I’m actually meant to be working but I told my boss I needed an extra day. I have handed in my notice, so I don’t care.”
The university lecturer ended up queuing for seven hours to get tickets for her first time at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, Deledda Caucig, 66, was forced to queue for seven hours to get a ground pass to Wimbledon on Tuesday.
She told the Standard she had arrived shortly after 6.30am to queue and had been trapped in “unbearable” heat.
She said: “I’m used to the heat but it was longer than usual. Usually when I have queued it has been around four and a half hours. There are more people this year.”
Nicoletta Adda, 68, who queued with Ms Caucig added: “I don’t know why it’s so slow. It’s really badly managed. Seven hours is just unbelievable.”
Dozens of umbrellas lined the route of the queue as early morning temperatures began to climb and fans tried to stay cool.
Father and daughter Raju and Robyn Misra, from Stockport, were among those who camped out from Monday evening.
“We got here at 6.30pm – we only got about an hour’s sleep,” Ms Misra, 35, said.
Her father, 61, added: “We had a bottle of wine – that’s all we needed.”
The pair said they were hoping to see former Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in action at his 20th championships.
Anjon Saidy-Khan, 32, said: “We saw the news – it looks set to be even hotter today so we needed to be prepared.
“If you saw a picture you’d think it was pouring it down – every other person has a brolly, it seems.”
Over 100 free water refill points have been positioned around Wimbledon, while players have been handed ice packs and cold towels to help them cope with conditions on court.
Staff working at the tournament have also had their shifts adjusted to limit heat exposure.
Away from Wimbledon, 34.7C was recorded at St James’s Park in central London on Tuesday afternoon, beating a 34.4C reading recorded in Writtle, Essex earlier on Tuesday.
The previous warmest day in the UK in 2025 was June 21 when 33.2C was recorded in Charlwood, Surrey.
It also exceeds Monday’s peak temperature of 33.1C at Heathrow, which marked the hottest start to Wimbledon on record.
