
Wimbledon grounds hit by lightning amid ‘challenging' weather
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.
Spectators queue in rain ponchos under umbrellas on Monday morning (Mike Egerton/PA)
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.'
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz walks off the practice courts on Sunday during a rain spell (John Walton/PA)
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'.
Ground staff sweep water from the rain covers on an outside court on Sunday (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
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.
Cameron Norrie celebrates victory following his singles win against Nicolas Jarry on Sunday (Ben Whitley/PA)
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.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Herald Scotland
42 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Jannik Sinner gets reprieve as Grigor Dimitrov forced to retire when two sets up
Sinner rushed around the net to check on his opponent as he sat, in some distress, on the court. Jannik Sinner and physios check on Grigor Dimitrov (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The 19th seed was helped to his feet by two physios and went off to receive treatment, before returning a few minutes later to shake Sinner's hand. It was more dreadful luck for a popular player, who had to retire injured from matches in the last four grand slams, including against Daniil Medvedev here at the same stage last year. Sinner, who helped Dimitrov pack his rackets away and carried his bag off court, said: 'I don't know what to say. He is an incredible player, I think we all saw this today. 'He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player, a good friend also. Seeing him in this position, if there would be a chance he could play the next round he would deserve it. A sight we never want to see. Grigor Dimitrov is forced to retire while leading two sets to love. Everyone at #Wimbledon is wishing you a speedy recovery, Grigor 💚💜 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025 'I hope he has a speedy recovery. I don't take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us. 'In the last grand slams he struggled a lot. Seeing him again having this kind of injury is very, very tough. It's very sad. We all wish him only the best, let's have applause for him.' It was a major reprieve for Sinner, the three-time grand slam winner who looked set to be on the end of a seismic shock in front of a stunned Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov waves to the crowd after retiring through injury (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The Italian had slipped on the baseline in the opening game and took a medical timeout midway through the second set for treatment on his right wrist and elbow. But the physio was unable to alleviate the real pain for Sinner, which was Dimitrov serving up a grass-court clinic on a surface the 23-year-old has yet to get to grips with. However, after two hours and eight minutes of vintage Dimitrov, his body let him down again, so it is the top seed who will face American Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'Different feel' as Hewett prepares for dual title defence
Wimbledon 2025Venue: All England Club Dates: 30 June-13 July Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage guide. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid were watching the Wimbledon action from the Royal Box on Saturday but now it is their turn to take to the court to defend their 27, won the wheelchair men's singles title for the first time last year, while he and fellow Briton Reid claimed the men's wheelchair doubles title for the sixth over Spain's Martin de la Puente in the singles final made Hewett the first man since Reid in 2016 to win the Wimbledon singles and doubles in the same to the All England Club having finally won the singles title that had eluded him for so many years makes the tournament feel "different" this year. "It's a lot more enjoyable," he told BBC Sport."I look back at just being here and all the years that I've been here and to finally get that trophy last year was such a massive weight off my shoulders."I always felt that when I returned as defending champion, it would have a different feel to it."Hewett has 30 Grand Slam titles - 10 in the singles and 22 in the doubles. Only Japanese legend Shingo Kunieda has won more majors in the men's game with begins his singles title defence against Daniel Caverzaschi of Spain on Tuesday, while Reid is up against Belgian Joachim Gerard. 'To play on Centre Court would be a dream come true' Reid was unable to play at Eastbourne just before Wimbledon because of illness but says he is now back to full health."It was out of my system after a couple of days," he said. "I'm back to full fitness and ready to and Hewett won their doubles title last year on Court One, but the 33-year-old hopes one day to compete in a final on Centre Court."I'm sure we're not the only ones that would love to play a match on Centre Court," he added."It would be a dream come true for us. To have a wheelchair tennis match on there during the Championships would be something totally iconic to the sport."

South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Jannik Sinner gets reprieve as Grigor Dimitrov forced to retire when two sets up
The 34-year-old Bulgarian was two sets up and playing some inspired tennis when, at 2-2 in the third set, he clutched his chest after serving an ace. Sinner rushed around the net to check on his opponent as he sat, in some distress, on the court. Jannik Sinner and physios check on Grigor Dimitrov (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The 19th seed was helped to his feet by two physios and went off to receive treatment, before returning a few minutes later to shake Sinner's hand. It was more dreadful luck for a popular player, who had to retire injured from matches in the last four grand slams, including against Daniil Medvedev here at the same stage last year. Sinner, who helped Dimitrov pack his rackets away and carried his bag off court, said: 'I don't know what to say. He is an incredible player, I think we all saw this today. 'He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player, a good friend also. Seeing him in this position, if there would be a chance he could play the next round he would deserve it. A sight we never want to see. Grigor Dimitrov is forced to retire while leading two sets to love. Everyone at #Wimbledon is wishing you a speedy recovery, Grigor 💚💜 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025 'I hope he has a speedy recovery. I don't take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us. 'In the last grand slams he struggled a lot. Seeing him again having this kind of injury is very, very tough. It's very sad. We all wish him only the best, let's have applause for him.' It was a major reprieve for Sinner, the three-time grand slam winner who looked set to be on the end of a seismic shock in front of a stunned Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov waves to the crowd after retiring through injury (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The Italian had slipped on the baseline in the opening game and took a medical timeout midway through the second set for treatment on his right wrist and elbow. But the physio was unable to alleviate the real pain for Sinner, which was Dimitrov serving up a grass-court clinic on a surface the 23-year-old has yet to get to grips with. However, after two hours and eight minutes of vintage Dimitrov, his body let him down again, so it is the top seed who will face American Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.