Wimbledon grounds hit by lightning amid ‘challenging’ weather

By Sam Hall, PA

A lightning strike hit the Wimbledon grounds on Sunday as the head of the tennis championships admitted weather conditions had been “challenging”.

Blustery conditions and rain overnight failed to dampen spirits in the queue for on-the-day tickets, with fans lining up in ponchos and under umbrellas.

Those travelling to Wimbledon also faced transport issues with “severe delays” on the District Line from Edgware Road to Wimbledon because of a signal failure at Putney Bridge.

 

Transport for London (TfL) said tickets were “being accepted on London buses and South Western Railway” instead.

All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said the tournament would have a “catch-up” with TfL after the championships to look ahead “in terms of investment into the District Line”.

People in the queue remained jovial as they lugged sodden tents and camping chairs before the gates opened at 10am.

Ms Bolton said no one was injured after lightning hit a car park at the Championships on Sunday.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Ms Bolton said: “I have to say the weather yesterday was really quite challenging.

“We did have a lightning strike in car park six.

“No one was injured, nothing got damaged, but it was just a reminder of the nature of adverse weather and always being prepared for that.”

Asked whether TfL was providing adequate service to those attending Wimbledon, Ms Bolton said: “We have an excellent relationship with TfL, we’re working with them all year.

“You won’t be surprised to hear that we have been speaking to them during the championships.

“We have been and remain clear with them that delivering an event of this scale in this part of London requires the infrastructure in this part of London to support us in doing that.

“They’re very aware of that view, and we have arranged to catch-up with them after the championships, to look at not just what happened this year but also to look ahead in terms of investment into the District Line.”

The All England Club’s plan to expand into a neighbouring golf course, adding 39 new courts, will be subject to a judicial review hearing this week at the High Court following a challenge by the Save Wimbledon Park group.

Ms Bolton said the All England Club “remain really confident that we’ll make the progress we need to make”.

The All England Club chief executive added: “The scheme we are seeking to deliver is all about safeguarding and enhancing the future of the championships, but also delivering fantastic benefits for the local community, including a new 27-acre public park.

“So we remain very committed and determined to deliver it, and excited about the opportunity of what it can do for both the Championships and the local residents.”

There were covers over many of the outer courts on Monday morning including No2 court after wet conditions overnight.

Conditions are expected to improve through Monday with rain changing to sunny intervals by late morning, with a maximum temperature of 22C, according to the Met Office.

The conditions followed a mixed bag of weather during the previous week – from blue skies and temperatures as high as 34C to overcast and rainy spells.

Warm and sunny weather is forecast in SW19 for much of the rest of the week with temperatures predicted to hit 30C on Friday.

British singles hopes at Wimbledon rest on Cameron Norrie after his gruelling five-set win followed Sonay Kartal’s defeat on Sunday.

He next faces defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.

Norrie, a semi-finalist in 2022, is only the third British man to reach the last eight more than once in the last 50 years, after Tim Henman and Sir Andy Murray.

Kartal’s loss to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova included an embarrassing malfunction of Wimbledon’s new electronic line-calling system on Centre Court.

Organisers admitted the technology was turned off in error on a section of the court for a game, with the mistake only becoming apparent when a shot from Kartal that clearly missed the baseline was not called out.

A Wimbledon spokesperson later said the technology was “deactivated in error on part of the server’s side of the court”, the “chair umpire followed the established process” and both players had received an apology.

A minute’s silence was observed at Wimbledon at 10.30am on Monday to honour the victims of the July 7 London terror attacks 20 years ago.