Wimbledon 2022: Why are there empty seats and can you still buy tickets?

Despite tickets being like gold dust, especially with no public vote this year, fans of the tournament are disappointed to see empty seats in the courts.

The All England Club has received a number of complaints from angry spectators, and BBC presenter Sue Barker reported that there were ‘a lot of empty seats’ during Emma Raducanu’s second round match against Caroline Garcia.

But why were there so many empty seats at Wimbledon, and can you still get tickets to attend?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Why are there empty seats at Wimbledon?

This year marks the first year that Wimbledon has been able to accommodate full capacity after the Covid-19 pandemic.

And yet there are still empty seats visible during the tournament, even though the tickets are highly sought after.

One reason attributed to this is the resale of tickets.

This meant that there were large queues at these resale hubs and empty seats in the arena.

Gaps in the crowd have also been linked to business use.

Many of the empty seats were around the Royal Box, which is usually reserved for businesses or for members of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

Are Wimbledon tickets still available?

Unlike previous years, there was no public vote for 2002 Wimbledon.

Guests who received tickets to the canceled 2020 Wimbledon Championships as part of that year’s vote were offered the same day and the court for this year, meaning tickets for 2022 were hard to come by.

However, it is still possible to obtain returned ballots online.

Spectators can also queue at Wimbledon for tickets to that day’s events, although the queues can get very long.

Alternatively, you can also buy a ground pass for £27, which is reduced to £18 every day after 5pm.

A ground pass gives you access to Courts 3 to 19 and The Hill, where images of the Center Court and No.1 Courts are shown live.

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