As the Wimbledon finals approach this weekend, with Linda Nosková facing Karolína Muchová and Jannik Sinner taking on Alexander Zverev, the tournament continues to hold a singular place in the tennis world. It is not merely the most prestigious event on the calendar, but the one that most feels like it belongs to everyone—from royalty to regular fans. The All England Lawn Tennis Club’s groundskeepers tend the courts like family, and generation after generation of fans inherits that tradition.
Every spring, months before a single ball is struck, the groundskeepers begin their most important work. In May 2023, a journalist was invited to spend time with the staff during their preparation for Wimbledon. Will Brierley, the lead groundsperson, demonstrated how they mow, trim, massage, roll, and paint some of the world’s most famous tennis courts. The groundskeepers, who do not follow tennis closely, speak about each court as if it were a sibling or cousin—some demanding and temperamental, others easy to maintain. They are exhausted by the time the tournament starts, especially after rain, but they know these courts intimately.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that consistently draws not just fans but families, by blood or chosen. Unlike any other major sporting event, it still allows fans to queue for a chance to buy same-day show-court seats at face value, or enter the grounds for as little as £33. This creates an atmosphere in which families can afford to attend and celebrate in community. Last year, even with a media pass, a journalist spent a morning in the queue to experience that camaraderie. Every other group in line was playing a board game, a card game, soccer, or participating in some other analog communal engagement as they waited, sometimes with champagne at 9 a.m. People spoke English, German, French, and Japanese. Everyone was excited. Multi-generational groups and groups of 60-something women in hand-embroidered hats have been coming for decades to queue together, picnic on Henman Hill, and treat the fortnight as an annual retreat.
The tournament started in 1877 as an outgrowth of the exclusive Victorian croquet club, as lawn tennis rose in prominence in the UK. Some 200 people attended the first final, crowded among three stands. The All England Club introduced the queue in 1922 once the venue moved from a small meadow to larger grounds on Church Road, still in the famed SW19 postal code area. Everyday fans could buy tickets on the day of play. Over the years, the queue and the tournament became the most sought-after events in the sport’s annual calendar. Fans would give anything to witness the world’s oldest tennis tournament and Centre Court, where greats from Arthur Ashe to Serena Williams to Roger Federer became legends.
For the lucky fans attending this year, they will witness legends anew as Serena and Venus Williams play doubles together for the first time since 2022—yet another family reunion at Wimbledon. The groundskeeping staff includes two sets of brothers among the team. Most of the groundskeepers do not follow tennis; they align themselves with Premier League teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, or Chelsea. Their only real chatter revolves around which players’ movement styles damage or preserve the grass. A player who drags their back foot up to meet their front foot when serving kills the grass, which is why sharp brown lines form behind the baseline in the first week. Players who move balletically, though, are loved by the groundskeepers. Roger Federer was notably good for the grass.
When asked about the differences between the courts, Brierley pointed at a map on the wall in the clubhouse. They also keep photographs of the courts from past years as a kind of institutional memory. “Some of these ones are much more difficult to get ready or keep ready than ones even right next to them,” he said. “Obviously, everyone cares the most about…” he trailed off, pointing to Centre Court, the center of Wimbledon’s beating heart. Court 2 puts them through the most, and they love it for that. The court sits below ground level, beneath the water table, which means its soil stays wet longer, but it also dries and heats faster than its neighbors.
Wimbledon’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to blend tradition with accessibility. The queue system, the groundskeeping family, and the multi-generational fans all contribute to an atmosphere that feels like a reunion. As the finals approach, the world will watch not just for the tennis, but for the sense of belonging that Wimbledon uniquely provides.
