Finally, the day had come. The event that beckoned us to venture across The Pond was set to begin in just mere hours. I wish I could say we were awoken by the sound of trumpets, but I suppose the classic iPhone alarm tone was sufficient enough.

After a pit stop at the Millenium for a quick breakfast, we boarded The Underground at Gloucester Road station and took the District Line to Southfields Station. As we neared Southfields, the number of passengers donning either tennis gear, floral gowns and wide brimmed hats, or fresh-pressed suits grew with each stop. By the time we were approaching the station, it was unmistakably clear that everyone was heading to Wimbledon.



Upon arrival, the masses spilled out onto the platform and we all slowly began making our way through the town of Southfields and towards the grounds. Around 20 minutes later and we arrived to one of the many gates, just a few minutes before the gates were set to open. At 10am on the dot, a voice came over the intercom announcing that the gates were to be opened and despite the lengthy line for entry, we were soon on the grounds.



Not even the most eloquent words or meticulous detail could truly capture what it was like to step onto the grounds of Wimbledon for the first time. I’m not sure whether it is the gorgeous architecture of the arenas, the freshly manicured grass, or the way a sunny day illuminates the entire scene, but there is something special about Wimbledon. The palpable excitement in the air confirmed that I was not the only one who felt this way.








We had some time to kill, so while my Dad, Mom, and Sister moseyed around the All-England Club and had tea (again, Dad in journalism), my girlfriend and I set off to explore. First order of business? A Pimm’s Cup, of course! The iconic Wimbledon cocktail didn’t disappoint, and neither did the prices. Everything here was much cheaper than I am used to, with a beer coming in at just over six pounds versus the $16 I’d be paying at any major sporting event back home.



Around 11, my girlfriend and I made our way over Court 3 where world number seven Andrey Rublev was taking on Max Purcell. Purcell put up a good effort, but Rublev is number seven for a reason and took down the Aussie in just three sets.



After the match, we were pretty hungry so we went to one of the many food courts on the grounds. Unlike the French Open, where the food is absolutely repulsive, Wimbledon actually has food you would want to eat. There is a huge variety of cuisines, from Asian, to Mediterranean, to English. The list goes on. We settled on wraps from a Mediterranean stand and got a few drinks to go along with it.





Once we finished up, we made the short walk over the Court One where the court’s first match of the day was about to be played. This match pit women’s world number one Iga Swiatek up against Zhu Lin. Swiatek demolished her foe in straight sets, but her skills were still on full display. It was an absolute pleasure getting to watch such a phenomenal player, even more so in such a beautiful arena.





One thing to note about the Swiatek match was it began to rain with just a few games left to play in the second set. Luckily, both Center Court and Court One have retractable roofs, although watching them cover and uncover the court for the weather was a bit of a spectacle.



As it turns out, it was really raining outside, which meant that all of the other courts had to suspend play until the rain stopped. With nothing to watch, the grounds were absolutely flooded by the mass of people eating, drinking, and walking their way through the delay. Since the next match on Court One was still a bit away, we joined the crowd and did some walking ourselves. We eventually found the Amex Centurion Lounge and true to form, there was a significant wait to get in. Usually I’d go to the Admirals Club in this situation, but the champagne bar wasn’t a bad second choice.







Probably why there was such a line...

By the time we got back to Court One, the match between world number four Casper Ruud and Frenchman Laurent Lokoli was well underway. Ruud ended up taking the first set 6-1, but Lokoli really put together a great second set and ended up winning it 7-5, firing up the crowd in the process. Ruud ended up easily taking the final two sets, but the match was quite entertaining nevertheless.




At this point, the rain had subsided and play had resumed on the outdoor courts. We took this opportunity to try and catch a glimpse of soon-to-be Hall of Famer Stan Wawrinka. Though well past his prime, Wawrinka is a three-time Grand Slam winner and was able to put together a fantastic career. He would have had more success had he not played in the era of the Djokovic, Federer, Nadal hegemony, but so would basically every other tennis player of that era.




Unfortunately, we really couldn’t get the best view of the Wawrinka match, so we went over to some of the side courts. A nice surprise was seeing Diego Schwartzman on Court 7. Schwartzman is a very talented player from Argentina, known perhaps for his short stature (standing at just 5’7’’) as much as his accolades on the court. The sun was just beginning to retreat at this point, which made for a gorgeous scene.






After watching some of the side court matches and picking up some strawberries and cream (completely overrated), we went over to Court One for the final showdown of the night, women’s world number seven Coco Gauff against one-time Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin. Gauff looked pretty bad for the most part and Kenin took full advantage of that, beating her in three sets, including a 6-2 trouncing in the third.




By the time the Gauff-Kenin match wrapped up, it was 8:30 but still light enough for some family photos on the hill. The lighting and background made for some fantastic pics; a literal photo finish to such a great day.

As we left, I was able to snap some a few last pictures of the grounds in the dying light.



Tranquil as the last hour or two had been, leaving Wimbledon was an absolute mess. Thousands of people paraded back through the town of Southfields, completely overwhelming both the street and the train station. There were staff trying to keep people in lines and only releasing them when a new train arrived, but it became clear this wasn’t going to work as not long after, people just began pushing themselves into the station and onto the trains. Thankfully, we all made it on the same car and thus began to 20-minute ride back to the Kensington Area.




None of us had dinner at this point, so we all were super hungry with the exception of my mom, who tends to have a limited battery for all-day events like this. She ended up getting off at Gloucester Road, while my dad, sister, girlfriend and I rode the tube one stop further and got off in Earl’s Court. With limited options at that hour, we settled on Franco Manca, which is a pizza chain in England. We each got a salads and split two pizzas and honestly, it hit the spot. I’m a sucker for thin crust sourdough pizzas where the crust is the star of the show and this fit the bill. Or maybe I was just super hungry.



After dinner, we retreated back to our respective hotels and enjoyed a well-deserved night of rest.

Thank you everyone for following along! I tried my best to capture what it was like to be at Wimbledon, but as I noted, it really is one of those things where you just have to experience it yourself. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed and I look forward to finishing this trip report up over the next few days with our flight in BA's Club World Cabin from LHR-PHL!