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
Scottish Sun
22 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
British Wimbledon champ handed biggest fine of 2025 BEFORE tournament started as full list of punishments revealed
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A BRITISH tennis ace has been fined more than £9,000 for "verbally abusing staff" in an explosive training row at Wimbledon. Doubles sensation Henry Patten, 29, was handed the highest penalty of the Championships so far for allegedly kicking off when his practice session was cut short BEFORE the tournament began. 3 Henry Patten, right, won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2024 but he was handed a big fine before this year's Championships Credit: Getty The left-hander - who won last year's doubles title at SW19 - is appealing the sanction. He said he is 'disappointed' in the All England Club for disclosing the fines but not his denial. He said: 'I do not believe that there has been a full or proper investigation, nor has Wimbledon acted reasonably or fairly with due process. "I am disappointed that as the defending male's doubles champion that I am having to address this matter at this point rather than concentrating on playing tennis.' READ MORE ON WIMBLEDON SHEL DO Daughter of 'one of greatest sportsmen ever' stuns at Wimbledon cheering on Shelton The Australian Open winner, 29, who sailed through to the quarter final alongside Finland's Harri Heliovaara after a walkover on Monday, refused to comment on the nature of the incident. He is one of 12 players slapped with a total of £37,000 worth of fines in SW19 so far this year. French star Theo Arribage, 24, has been ordered to pay over £5,500 for 'unsportsmanlike conduct' in his second-round doubles clash. World No123 Adrian Mannarino, 37, landed himself a £4,400 penalty and Russian-born Elena Pridankina, 19, has been charged £3,600 for the same offence. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Belgium player Zizou Bergs, 26, and American Hailey Baptiste, 23, will both have to cough up £2,900 after being punished for 'audible obscenities', while French ace Varvara Gracheva, 24, was handed the same fine for 'abuse of racquets or equipment'. The biggest Wimbledon penalty on record was in 2019 when Bernard Tomic had his full prize money of £45,000 taken away for failing to meet the 'required professional standard' during his 58-minute first-round defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Brits' opponent forced to retire from Wimbledon after suffering freak injury when he tried to catch the ball 3 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19 The dismal match - the shortest at SW19 in 15 years - was slammed as 'embarrassing'. And ex-doubles star Jeff Tarango was famously given an £11,000 fine after a fiery spat in 1995 which saw him accuse the umpire of being corrupt and tell the crowd to "shut up" when they jeered him. His wife then stormed a press conference to reveal she'd slapped the match official in the face. Following an investigation, the Grand Slam Committee fined the ace an additional £21,000 and banned him from two tournaments. The AELTC has been approached for comment.
Metro
26 minutes ago
- Metro
Marin Cilic hits out at Wimbledon over two decisions after 'bitter' exit
Marin Cilic hit out at Wimbledon over two decisions following his fourth-round defeat to an inspired Flavio Cobolli. Former US Open champion Cilic rolled back the years in the first week of Wimbledon, beating British number one Jack Draper on his way to the fourth round. Cilic became the first player to take a set off Cobolli on Court Two but had no answer to the Italian's powerful hitting and impressive movement. The former Wimbledon finalist won a third-set tie-break as he threatened to mount a comeback after going 2-0 behind but Cobolli emerged triumphant from the next tie break to reach a quarter-final of a Grand Slam for the first time. Cilic insisted world number 24 Cobolli played at a 'great level' in the match but fumed at Wimbledon's decision to schedule the clash for an 11am start. The 36-year-old said the early start – necessary in the first week of slams due to the number of matches – prevented him from practicing outside before the fourth-round meeting. 'Honestly, Flavio played a great level,' Cilic said in his press conference after exiting SW19. 'The first two and a half sets, even three sets he played great level. Not many things that he did wrong. 'He was doing lots of things very clean, served well, and then was definitely putting me in a lot of tough positions. Then, you know, just unfortunate with the tiebreaks, they're always tough a bit of a lottery. 'It's disappointing to go out. I felt that there was possibly a good chance to come back in the fourth and to have some good energy in the fifth.' Turning his attention to the scheduling, Cilic added: 'I was even talking with the tournament about the scheduling. I don't like to speak about the conditions. 'You know, okay, I lost and everything. I have to accept it. Flavio played fantastically and obviously great for him, first time in the quarter-finals. 'But, you know, I feel bitter because why is there a need to play at 11am when even the practice courts don't open until 9:30am? 'This morning I was warming up indoors. You wake up at 6am. It's okay for the matches in the earlier rounds, okay but we have a last-16 [match]. 'It's raining overnight, and the court was quite soft. I mean, I don't know if you watched the match. It was really difficult to play on. 'You just push the ball in the middle of the court, and the ball just stays super low. It was just a struggle. 'Once you start the match you can't really do anything. So, yeah, it is was it is.' Cilic, who turned pro in 2005, also criticised Wimbledon's decision to ditch line judges in favour of electronic line calling. Most players have welcomed the introduction of ELC at all ATP events but there have been complaints about its accuracy at the All England Club. Cilic says he experienced some 'weird' calls and has questioned if it was 'necessary' for Wimbledon to become the third Grand Slam to move to automated line calling. 'Even in my match with [Jaume] Munar on Court 18 there was some weird [calls],' he said. 'Even today there was one weird. 'I felt like I missed a serve by this much [gestures with his hands] and it was called in. Some was out. 'I don't think there is a necessity. I don't know if it's easier, you know, for the tournament. Okay, you just put the electronic line calling. I have no idea. 'For years the line judges were doing great. Maybe there is a mistake. And you know, that's okay. You have still a challenge which you can use. 'The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation,' Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton said. 'Having reviewed the results of the testing undertaken at The Championships this year, we consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating. 'For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour. 'We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. 'Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at The Championships for many decades and we recognise their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.' 'But, you know, I see no reason just to have no line judges because also for them, if you look at years in the past, all the chair umpires that are now, they were at one moment line judges finals of Wimbledon, finals of US Open, you know, big tournaments. 'Then, okay, they have this experience. They come to the chair. What happens now? 'If all the tour does electronic line calling, how do you get to become a chair umpire? Where is your experience? 'On the other side, I felt like I missed by this much. Okay, the ball is in. Did I see wrong or what? I mean, I have no idea. 'Then on the other side he sort of hit some balls quite long, and then hawk-eye says it's good. Then the chair umpire can't do anything because it's only electronic line calling.' Despite feeling 'bitter' over his Wimbledon exit, Cilic insisted he could take plenty of positives from his encouraging week at the All England Club. More Trending 'Absolutely, I have great, you know, encouragement, happiness, positive attitude, and positive outcomes out of the tournament,' he said. 'In a while I haven't played some Grand Slams on this kind of level. So I found great form, played some fantastic tennis. Even today was quite close. 'It is a little bit bitter knowing that, okay, if this, if that, maybe could have been different, but it is what it is. We go forward.' Cobolli's reward for knocking out Cilic is a Wimbledon quarter-final against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who recovered from losing the first set 6-1 to beat Alex de Minaur in four. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: 'Do better' – Maria Sharapova hits out at Aryna Sabalenka Wimbledon headline MORE: Roger Federer blamed for 'shocking' Novak Djokovic scare at Wimbledon MORE: Why was Jannik Sinner banned from tennis? Doping suspension explained
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Why Wimbledon is changing electronic line-calling
Wimbledon have overhauled their electronic line calling system to prevent future 'human errors' following the extraordinary blunder in the match involving Britain's Sonay Kartal. During the first set of Sunday's fourth-round clash between Kartal and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a Hawk-Eye operator accidentally switched off the ball-tracking technology for one game. It meant a Kartal shot that was clearly out was not called, leading to farcical scenes on Centre Court as play was temporarily suspended. After umpire Nico Helwerth eventually ordered for the point to be replayed, Kartal won it and went on to win the game, with Pavlyuchenkova accusing the official of having pro-Brit bias. Following the incident, Wimbledon released a statement apologising and launched a 'thorough' review. They have now amended the ELC system – which has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon for the first time this year - so an operator can no longer turn off the ball-tracking technology by accidentally unticking a box. An All England Club spokesperson said: 'Our live ELC system relies on the cameras and technology working in harmony with the operators and review officials. 'We have conducted a thorough review of our systems and processes. What is clear is that the ball-tracking technology has been working optimally during The Championships. 'In this instance, there was a human error which deactivated the ball tracking cameras on part of the server's side of the court. Umpire Helwerth was heavily criticised following Sunday's match, with the rulebook stating that should the ELC system not work, 'the call shall be made by the chair umpire'. The German official was not given a match on Monday, but Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton insisted he had not been stood down and was merely having a 'rest day'.
