In early July, the All England Club hosts Wimbledon. As Wimbledon is based in the UK, British weather can sometimes affect the match schedule. What do the tournament authorities do when it’s pouring non-stop?
Center Court and Court 1 have retractable roofs, but the other courts do not have this luxury, and rain can cause major problems with the Wimbledon schedule. Although the rain has stopped disturbing this year’s edition, it may return, which is why we explain how the tournament authorities act then.
When it rains at Wimbledon 2023, the outside courts must be covered and play resumes when the rain stops, even if it means the next day. For the covered courts, Center Court and Court No. 1, there is a short delay while the retractable roof must be closed and players return to the game when the grass is dry enough to pose no risk of injury.
Regarding the Wimbledon ticket refund policy and rain breaks, the rules of the tournament are clear.
“If there is less than one hour’s play on the court for which tickets have been bought, the applicable successful applicant will be refunded the purchase price for such ticket(s),” Wimbledon explains.
“Ticket holders of grounds passes (except those purchased after 17:00) will be eligible for a full refund for such ground passes if the average amount of play on those courts accessible with a grounds pass and for which play was originally scheduled is less than one hour. If there is more than one hour’s play, but less than two hours’ play, refunds will be limited to half of the purchase price.”
Wimbledon is a two-week tournament, so there is usually enough time to make up for rain-related delays in matches and finish the tournament on schedule, which is Sunday 16 July.
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