Wimbledon | WellnessMaster

Beefed-up security to prevent protesters disrupting Wimbledon have led to long, frustrating queues on the opening day of the tennis championships.

Just Stop Oil activists have recently interrupted the Ashes cricket test at Lord’s, with one activist carried off the field by England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.

Protesters have also disrupted other sporting events in Britain this year, as well as other events including the Chelsea Flower Show.

Airport-style security was in place in SW19 as staff looked out for chalk dust and powders which have been banned at the prestigious tournament for the first time ever.

Specialist undercover police spotters have also been deployed, The Telegraph reported.

Glue, cable-ties and chains and padlocks are all on the prohibited list as they can be used to disrupt events by protesters attaching themselves to property.

Sky News reported the wait at Wimbledon was as long as eight hours as organisers advised people not to travel to join the queue just before noon.

Wimbledon tweeted: “Our grounds are set to be at capacity today, which means those already in the queue will be waiting several hours for admission. We advise people intending to queue today not to travel to Wimbledon.”

Multiple media outlets in the UK have been reporting that Wimbledon is a prime target for activists with some seeing it as an unrivalled opportunity for publicity.

But the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts the grasscourt grand slam tournament, was confident it had matters under control.

The club said it had been liaising with organisers of other sporting events, including the English Cricket Board, to refine best practices.

Michelle Dite, Wimbledon operations director, told reporters: “We have plans in place to mitigate the risks working in partnership with specialist agencies and the Metropolitan Police and should an incident occur the appropriate specialist teams will respond.

“The safety and security of all our players, colleagues and visitors is paramount.”

But many were expressing frustration on Twitter.

10 hours later and I’m finally in. Well done Wimbledon 🙃

— Becky Deeming (@beckydeeming1) July 3, 2023

Our Grounds are set to be at capacity today, which means those already in the Queue will be waiting several hours for admission.

We advise people intending to Queue today not to travel to Wimbledon.

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2023

Wimbledon queue madness update: Stewards at the park gate telling people queue is closed, don’t come in. But those who ignore them and go in anyway *can* still join and get a queue number (though no guarantee of a ticket). It’s also raining. @ViewFromTheQ

— Emma Yeomans (@Effy_Yeomans) July 3, 2023

Venus and Jamie, who wrapped up a second round victory in the tournament’s mixed doubles bracket, were hit with the question during a post-match press conference on Saturday.

The reporter, in a clip shared by BBC Sport, asked if the two were “in it to win it” at the tournament.

“Or is it the first target just to get past the third round where Serena and Andy came a cropper.” the reporter asked.

The question comes after the pair’s success at the Grand Slam tennis tournament over the years. Venus has won five singles titles and six doubles titles at the tournament while Jamie has taken home two mixed doubles titles.

“What kind of question is that,” Venus responded as she turned to Jamie to laugh.

“We’re in it for a stroll. Come on.”

The tennis player later asked the reporter if they were going to “write a good article or just a halfway decent one” about the pair.

You can watch the interaction between the reporter and the tennis players above.

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Tag Archives: Wimbledon

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