A Girls Guide To: Wimbledon

what to wear, surviving the queue, and how to pretend you understand the score

Last year I listened to over 20,000 hours of Podcasts on Spotify. To this day, an episode from Vox Media’s This Is Love remains one of my favorites and I will re-listen to it every year around this time.

The story follows a farmer in Iowa who fell in love with Wimbledon as a kid and years later, decided that he would bring the iconic British Championships right to his midwest home. I won’t spoil any more because it’s the sweetest story ever and you really should go listen to it.

This year will be my fifth Wimbledon, the prestigious and historic two-week grass tennis tournament that takes place in London every July. As the popularity of tennis continues to grow year over year, I tend to get a lot of questions and advice-seekers in my DM’s around this time so I thought it might be helpful to put it all in one place.

There are a few ways to attend Wimbledon and none of them are necessarily an easy feat.

1. You pay a sh*t ton of money.

2. You get invited by the club, a company, or player.

3. You enter the Wimbledon Public Ballot for a chance to purchase tickets at face value (this usually takes place 10/11 months prior to the tournament).

4. You queue.

The Wimbledon queue is the famous waiting line for same-day tickets to the matches. Wimbledon is one of the few remaining sporting events where spectators can get cheap tickets day-of, and is the primary way to attend Wimbledon if you are not a winner of the public ballot.

Last year, I asked hundreds of queue-goers for their best tips and this is what they said:

• follow @viewfromtheq on twitter for realtime updates on how the queue is moving & how long it is taking attendees to get in from arrival.

• COME EARLY. many people recommended as early as 3/4am. getting to the grounds before the tube starts running will beat the first wave of big crowds.

• expect a LONG day, anywhere from 4-8 hours wait! bring things to entertain yourself - books, card games, & good company.

• if you want a main court ticket, your best bet is to camp overnight as these are reserved for the first 500 people.

• wear layers as the weather will change throughout the day. check the weather and bring a light waterproof jacket if there is a chance of rain.

• other items to bring: umbrella, something waterproof to sit on (grass is damp in the morning), sunscreen, camping chairs, power bank for phone. there is storage available near the queue village for items you don't want to bring into the tournament.

• you can also take a shot at an afternoon (3pm) arrival to try to see the night action instead.

• bring LOTS of water, tea/coffee/snacks.

• you are allowed to bring 1 bottle of wine or champagne per person into the tournament.

• there are food trucks but they are expensive! there is a sainsbury (grocery store) a 10 minute walk from the grounds that you can pick up goodies & alcohol at. also nearby is dropshot or GAILS for coffee/pastries. you can leave the queue line for short periods of time.

• make friends with your queue neighbors.

• once you get in, you can try the resale queue for a chance to upgrade your tickets to a ticketed court or center court (it's virtual starting last year!)

Most importantly, don’t stress or be intimidated. The queue is EXTREMELY organized, safe, and fun. I’ve spent a lot of time at the queue over the years interviewing attendee’s for Wimbledon Threads, everyone is incredibly friendly and enjoying the unique experience. Even in the pouring rain.

I also often get asked when the best time to go to a tournament is to see top players. For Wimbledon, your best bet for this is to go during the first week (first or second rounds). Many top 20 ATP and WTA players will play their first rounds on side courts that are accessible via grounds passes.

Dressing up for tennis tournaments is…. ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵉ ᵒᵇᵛᶦᵒᵘˢˡʸ but I have always stressed that the reason I do it is just because it’s fun for me. I was dressing up for matches years before I started posting on social media. For most tennis fans, their idea of fun is going to a match in shorts and a t-shirt and just watching the tennis. My biggest piece of advice is dress how you want to and do what makes the entire experience more fun for you. That’s literally the whole point! Most Wimbledon attendees however, do dress nicely. While spectators don’t have a dress code (besides the Royal Box on Center Court), it’s generally advised to dress “smart.”

If you do choose to dress up, there is a ton of both modern and historical inspiration online from celebrities, influencers, and even the royals. Back in 2022, I filmed a GRWM TikTok about being inspired by one of many of Princess Diana’s Wimbledon looks.

Vibe: preppy, classy, polished, heritage… trust fund casual.

Overall: White, green, florals, maxi dresses, & pantsuits are a safe bet. Lean modest. And most importantly: layer. The weather changes on a whim and a warm sunny day can quickly turn into a frigid downpour.

The grounds are big so wear comfortable shoes. If you do bravely decide to wear heels, before you leave the house preemptively apply dr scholl’s heel cushions and hydrocolloid bandaids to all the spots you might possibly get blisters (this was my hack for walking 20K+ steps in heels every day at Wimbledon last year).

My signature fashion element the last 5 years at Wimbledon has been a slightly kitchy yet not too overbearingly obvious nod to one of the principal aspects of the tournament. Over the years its been: strawberry heels, a strawberry purse, tennis ball heels, strawberry earrings, a small strawberry charm fastened to a Tod’s jacket, and a “new balls please” bag. Last year British Vogue covered my 2008 Red Chanel Dress with white polka dots that I imagined I sort of looked like a giant designer strawberry in. I have yet to figure out my cheeky bit for the ‘25 tournament (honestly sort of feel like I’ve exhausted it all) but I imagine I’ll see a lot of this bag or similar on the grounds this year.

Wimbledon Village

The tournament is named after the charming little town of Wimbledon where the the games first began. In the weeks leading up to first round, it sort of looks like a big green tennis monster threw up all over the streets and every storefront, restaurant, and pub in the town is covered in turf, tennis balls, strawberries, and rackets. It’s adorable and if you’re going to the tournament it’s definitely worth stopping in for a coffee, or for a drink once you’ve left the grounds. Dog & Fox is a fun vibe in the evenings and play matches on all the TV’s.

The Tournament

Wimbledon is the oldest running tennis tournament in history, first organized in 1876. As someone who has been to a lot of events, the best way I can describe it is that it is simply magical and there is no other sporting event on earth quite like it.

I have sat through matches with the worst of the worst crowds (Paris ʲᵉ ᵗᵉ ʳᵉᵍᵃʳᵈᵉ)—at Wimbledon, especially on center court, you can hear a pin drop between points. Etiquette and tradition is extremely stressed and respected.

If you haven’t been to a tennis match before, some general spectator rules:

• don’t move from your seat unless it’s a changeover (every 3 games, when the players take a 90 second break to sit on their benches)

• don’t clap or cheer until you are sure a point is over

• don’t clap or cheer on a double fault (people still do this but they look like asswipes)

• silence your phone & no flash photos during the match

• don’t talk during points (this varies by tournament, but at Wimbledon it is usually very quiet)

• especially because of the current UK heatwave, HYDRATE during the match and leave your seat if you get lightheaded—I am absolutely sure there will be people who pass out during the tournament this year and you don’t want to be one of them

• there is a section of the grounds where there are a number of courts in very close proximity to each other (courts 4-11), please try to avoid walking between them during a point if you can as it’s super distracting to players (taylor requested that i put this one in here lol)

Merch

Wimbledon objectively has the best merch of the grand slams and that is a good reason to go during the first week, as the last few years the “best” pieces have sold out within the first few days. A few years ago, a popular hat that sold out the first day was being upsold within the players lounge and I had to barter with an IMG agent and venmo him to get it. Also try to go to the merch shops as early in the day as you can, as the line can get really long in the afternoon/evenings.

The big Wimbledon Shop is below Court 1. There is also a Ralph Lauren Official Wimbledon Shop that has lots of very cute Wimbledon-branded shirts, sweaters, and jackets—but keep in mind its still Ralph Lauren and they are expensive. This is also the best place to get coffee on site at their Ralph’s pop up in the store!

Food & Drink

Strawberries & Cream are the signature food at Wimbledon, handpicked from fields about 30 miles from the grounds at 4am each morning. They’re served in little cardboard boxes and are delicious and inexpensive. I did hear that they raised the prices 20p this year and the brits are very mad about it. You can also get a fancier version of them at the Ralph’s onsite served in gorgeous Ralph Lauren branded dishware (makes for a very aesthetic photo).

The signature drink on-site and Wimbledon’s official cocktail is Pimm’s, a gin-based liqueur mixed with lemonade. A word of caution that they don’t taste like much but they will sneak up on you. I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing a lot of stumblers when leaving the grounds late at night. Some places on site serve them in a can but I would recommend going to the bar in front of center court or to Pimm’s on the Hill to get a freshly-made one.

In 2023, Wimbledon approached me to host Wimbledon Threads - an official show in partnership with the tournament to cover fashion, history, and culture on the grounds. At the time I’d been posting my match outfits and BTS content of tournaments for about a year, but it was the first time a tournament had actually acknowledged me within the sport. I’m still endlessly grateful for the opportunity, and all the episodes from the last 2 years are on the Wimbledon Youtube if you want a fun peek into what its like on the grounds, what people wore in past years, and a BTS to parts of the tournament you might otherwise not get to see.

While there are an abundance of iconic moments and stories about the championships throughout the years such as the longest match ever played, or when Cliff Richards had a mini-concert during a rain delay, or Rodger’s 73 Questions—my favorite Wimbledon story ever is the Marcus Willis run at Wimbledon in 2016.

And because I love curating a vibe:

Hope you see you on the grounds this year! Any questions, or if you have your own tips for fellow Wimbledon-attendees they are welcomed below. ♡