The Wimbledon Championships, the oldest and arguably the most prestigious tennis event in the world, begins in London SW19 today (writes Nick Harris). If you love tennis, or even just like it, then I can strongly, strongly recommend a new Substack by Simon Cambers, a veteran tennis correspondent you can now find on this platform at https://substack.com/@simoncambers.
Simon will be writing from tournaments around the world, bringing you interviews with top players, and insight into the sport behind the scenes you won’t often find anywhere else, and great writing. The piece below, Simon’s first on his new site, is a fascinating read on the membership of the All England Club.
By Simon Cambers
It’s the most exclusive club in world sport, where royalty mixes with the likes of Roger Federer and Andy Murray. The All England Lawn Tennis Club, in south west London, stages the Wimbledon Championships and is the place to be and be seen.
So here’s a question. How much do you think it costs to be a member?
What would you say? £1,000? ($1,320) £2,000? £10,000? Remember, this is Wimbledon, the oldest and most famous of the four grand slam events. Members can play on the best grass tennis courts in the world and use some of the best facilities, whenever they like and hang out with former champions or members of the royal family.
Well, after confirming this with a few sources at the club, I can reveal that the annual fee for full membership at Wimbledon, as of 2026, is, drum roll, £150 ($198). That’s not a typo. Just £150.
The fee has actually gone up recently. For a long time, it was around £100, a figure that’s considered by the club to be “the average cost of a meal for four at a London restaurant” (think Pizza Express). Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Iran war and resultant inflation means that a meal for four is probably about £150* now, so the sentiment still stands. (*wine not included).
For temporary members, usually good, younger players selected by the Wimbledon Committee and whose status is evaluated every year, the annual fee is just £100. (There is, the club confirmed, a nominal joining fee).
I grew up playing tennis at a club an hour outside London that had just four outside courts and a small clubhouse. The fee to join that same club today is £195 (thank you to my old friend Mike Dakin for updating me on that). So, why is Wimbledon so cheap?
Despite being one of the most elite clubs in the world, Wimbledon likes to consider itself an egalitarian place, somewhere that almost anyone could afford to join.
Good luck getting in, though
Great, so we can all join then, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. In fact, it’s probably more difficult to join Wimbledon than any other club in the world, with the exception, perhaps, of Augusta, Georgia, the home of golf’s Masters, where members pay fees reportedly anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000 a year.
And it’s not that egalitarian, either. You have to be a very good tennis player. Not just someone who can play, but seriously good. There’s no world ranking cut-off, but if you were not inside the world’s top 200 at some stage, then you’d almost certainly need something else to boost your chances.
Apparently, if you’re already a member of the “Pubs” (The Independent and Public Schools Old Boys’ Lawn Tennis Association), that might swing it. (The title is misleading for any non-British readers; public schools are private, fee-paying schools. “Pubs” was originated to promote tennis in those schools and for their “old boys”, or alumni, to play matches and tournaments with each other).
Wimbledon has only around 565 members. Of those, full membership and life membership is capped at 375, an homage to the number of seats in the old Worple Road stand before the club moved to its present site in 1922. Full membership, life membership and honorary membership is capped at 500. In addition, there are around 100 temporary members and a number of junior members.
It’s an old joke that the easiest way to get into the club is to win the singles title. But it’s probably true. Every singles champion at Wimbledon becomes an honorary member of The All England Club, allowing them access whenever they like. Each winner gets given a small badge, which they cherish.
If they do want to pop in at some stage during the year, however, they’d better bring their members badge/membership card with them, as Roger Federer found to his cost in 2022 when a guard didn’t recognise him and wouldn’t let him in. Eventually, Federer tried another gate, was recognised by a fan and was allowed in.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, is also an honorary member, and since 2017, she has been patron of the club, succeeding Queen Elizabeth II, who filled the role from 1952 until 2016. While Catherine is an avid tennis fan and attends the Championships regularly; Queen Elizabeth II preferred horses and came to Wimbledon just four times, the last time in 2010.
“Dead man’s shoes”
To be a full or temporary member you need to be nominated by four full members, who are each required to write letters of support. Temporary members are able to play for the club in matches and use the facilities. Some serious schmoozing is also required if they want to be upgraded to full membership, but since there’s a cap, they often have to wait until someone dies. Dead man’s shoes, as it’s known.
Full members have greater status, as you might imagine. They can vote on club matters and are able to buy several tickets every day during the Championships, all of which are in an exclusive area inside Centre Court, just up and behind the Royal Box. Temporary members can also buy tickets, but nowhere near as many. Oh, and even the spouse of the chair of the club gets membership.
I was born in Wimbledon, believe it or not, and maybe if my parents had not missed out on a house there in the mid-1970s, maybe I would have tried to join, too. Probably not, though. I wasn’t a good enough player and didn’t mix in the right circles. But mostly, I wasn’t good enough.
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An interesting piece and thought you might like to check out this website Save Wimbledon Park at https://www.savewimbledonpark.org/
Hi Simon,
One question. How does the cap work in the context of a new winner becoming an honorary member. Surely that can push it past 500, or do they keep a buffer?
Thanks!