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Wimbledon Tennis Championship

With the French open being headed to an exciting climax–last heard tennis fans across France are hoping for a French revolution following 's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga win over King Roger, most people thoughts are now directed to the grandest and most majestic of all tennis tournaments- The Championships, Wimbledon or The Wimbledon Championship as it is more popularly known

One of the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournaments of the world, Wimbledon along with Australian Open, French Open (Roland Garros) and US Open constitute one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments of the world. Held every year at the the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the Wimbledon Championships is the only major grand slam that is still played on grass since its beginning in 1877. It is estimated that roughly around 500,000 spectators attend this two week tournament held during late June –early July, this disregarding the millions of viewers who view and listen to it over the radio, television and internet. So, if you are a tennis fan and wished to catch all the action, make sure to rent out a holiday apartment in Wimbledon, more so one that is close to the venue.

Traditions at Wimbledon

Traditions form the core of the Wimbledon Championship and this is what makes this tournament the best and one of its kinds. A strict all white dress code for all participants; the absence of advertisement around the courts, the strawberries and cream and the royal patronage is what makes Championship unique and special. And, yes who can forget the rains which too forms an integral part of the tournament. It’s most likely that there is hardly any Wimbledon Championship that has not got affected by the rains. To overcome this free gatecrasher, the Center Court was fitted with a retractable roof in 2009 in an effort to lessen the loss of playing time.

Wimbledon Tennis Championship Matches Dates

It is estimated that players from more than 60 nations will be competing in the tournament that is all set to began from 24 June and will go on till 7 July 2013 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Lasting over a period of two weeks, the first week will find spectators vying to see the early rounds of the Singles and Doubles matches though if you want to catch the top seeds in action, opt for Centre Court and Courts 1 and 2 tickets. However if it is the finals that you seek, than both Ladies and Men's Singles Finals take place over the final weekend of the Championships usually on the second Saturday and Sunday.

Wimbledon Tennis Championship Matches

During the tournament five major events are contested, as well as four junior events and five invitational events. These events are:

Main Event	Junior Events	Invitation Events
Men's Singles	Boys' Singles	Men's Invitation Doubles
Ladies' Singles	Girls' Singles	Senior Men's Invitation Doubles
Men's Doubles	Boys' Doubles	Ladies' Invitation Doubles
Ladies' Doubles	Girls' Doubles	Men's Wheelchair Doubles
Mixed Doubles	Disabled Doubles	Ladies' Wheelchair Doubles

Wimbledon Tennis Championship Match format

A combination of both single elimination and round robin format is followed. While most matches are single-elimination tournaments, the men’s, senior men and Ladies' Invitation Doubles usually follow a round-robin format.

Men's Singles and Doubles matches are best-of-five sets while all other events are best-of-three sets. A tiebreak game is played if the score reaches 6–6 in any set except the fifth (in a five-set match) or the third (in a three-set match), in which case a two-game lead must be reached.

Wimbledon Tennis Championship Tickets

If you are planning to go the matches, then you need to buy the tickets in advance. But, unlike most sport tournaments, tickets for Wimbledon are allocated via a public ballot which always gets oversubscribed and applicants are selected at random by computer. The best way to get a ticket is to send an application to the AELTC by mid December. Tickets allotted are not transferrable and as seats and days are allocated randomly so you are unable to choose the specific court or day that you would like to watch the match.

Another way to buy the tickets on the day is by queue. During the entire tournament around 1000 tickets are available- 500 tickets on days one to nine for Centre Court and Court No.2 and 500 tickets on all 13 Days for Court No 1. The best way to get tickets by this method is to camp outside the venue to better one’s chance of getting the tickets. And the best way to reach the venue- book a serviced apartment located near to the venue so that you can reach the venue well before others and get ahead in the queue.

Renting an apartment for the tournament

However, if you have already got your tickets and need a place to stay during the tournaments, then the holiday rentals of Wimbledon are your best bet. As a district of South west London, Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton is a quaint residential area which has several short term lets that are let out by their owners during the tournament to both the players with their entourage and to fans wishing to catch a day’s action. But, if you wish to stay in London and don’t mind travelling down to Wimbledon, then the serviced apartments of London are your best choice.