Wimbledon is all about its traditions, but one that always causes debate and interest from fans each year is the SW19 curfew should games run late into the night.
Fans have been treated to some epic late-night finishes at the Australian Open and US Open in recent years, with players sometimes finishing matches as late as 3 a.m., but you won’t see that happening at Wimbledon.
The curfew rules have already been a big talking point at the 2025 tournament after American Taylor Fritz earned his win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard across two days with play being stopped at 10:20 p.m. local time.
He recorded a 6-7(6), 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-4 win, but Fritz was upset that the match was halted after the fourth set on Monday night due to the Wimbledon curfew as he felt they could have kept on playing and possibly finished the match. He claimed his opponent did not want to continue and the umpire suspended the match.
The Sporting News takes a look at the Wimbledon curfew rules.
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What time is the Wimbledon curfew?
The Wimbledon curfew is set at 11 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET).
That curfew came into effect in 2009 when Centre Court’s roof opened, introduced by Merton Council in order to obtain planning permission for the roof.
A statement from Wimbledon in 2018 read: “The 11 p.m. curfew is a Planning Condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the scale of an international tennis event that takes place in a residential area.
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“The challenge of transport connectivity and getting visitors home safely is also a key consideration.”
The London Underground — how the majority of people travel to Wimbledon — closes at approximately midnight on weekdays and it can take fans 20 minutes to get to the station from the All England Club.
What are the Wimbledon curfew rules?
Rules state a match cannot go past 11 p.m. local time.
Wimbledon organizers have come in for criticism in the past with critics suggesting play should start earlier than the normal 1:30 p.m. BST start on Centre Court.
“That’s very much about ensuring that people have the opportunity to get on court, so as much as is possibly the case, we have full courts for when the players walk on,” All England Lawn Tennis Club CEO Sally Bolton said in 2023.
“When people buy a ticket to come to Wimbledon, they want to experience a day at the championships, and that involves going and seeing some play on outside courts, perhaps going to get something to eat, getting some strawberries and cream. We understand that our guests want that whole day.”
Play on the outside courts starts at 11 a.m. BST.
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Has a Wimbledon match ever gone beyond the curfew?
Only on rare occasions have the rules been bent slightly. In 2012, Andy Murray beat Marcos Baghdatis with the final point confirmed at 11:02 p.m. local time.
The umpire opted to give Murray a chance to see out the match instead of returning the next day as he was just one game from victory at 11 p.m.
The decision was praised by Merton Council’s leader Stephen Alambritis at the time, stating: “flexibility and common sense prevailed.”
“We were in touch with the All England Club from 10 p.m. onwards and there were discussions between our planning officers and the tournament director,” he said.
“We have always said these prearrangements were to be used with discretion, so I was pleased flexibility and common sense prevailed, because we have a duty to both the residents as well as the tennis.”
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