Wimbledon 2025: Empty seats, curfews, seeds and line sounds explain

The BBC Sport has been asking your questions at Wimbledon in early 2025.

Hundreds of you have been in touch and we have picked some of the best to view.

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John in Bedford

On the opening day of the 2025 Championship, even if the votes sold out a few months ago, there are plenty of empty seats available in the Central Court and in the Court One stands. Why?

Wimbledon operations manager Michelle Dine spoke with the BBC Sport on Tuesday.

“Because it’s too hot, there are still many people roaming the ground and finding shadows,” she said.

“We’ve been sending messages to people telling people to go and drink water. So maybe there are some people who are straying off the field and just looking for some shadows and taking a break.”

The audience can only walk around Wimbledon at the end of every two games. If the audience buys food or drinks, the time to exit the arena, queue, return and wait for the finish may mean a lot of games are missing.

The game starts at 11 a.m. and can run for 12 hours. Some fans may not spend the entire day on SW19 – travel planning may mean that some arrive a few hours after the game begins, or leave before the end.

Tickets to one of Wimbledon’s two show venues also allow fans to watch the game on any external court. There may be some key points during the day, and fans take a break from designated venue seats to watch another game they wish to see elsewhere.

Russell in Fromm

Men play five best games, while women play only three games is a tradition that dates back to the late 19th century.

When Wimbledon’s men’s singles championship was first held in 1877, the best match was held. When the women’s singles followed up in 1884, they competed in three best matches because they had less endurance.

The man continued to play the best five games in all four tennis Grand Slams, returning to the other three games throughout the year.

Zach in Lancashire

The tennis ball is made of a hollow rubber core filled with pressurized air and has a compound felt cover made of cotton, nylon and wool.

But that’s not always the case.

When modern lawn tennis developed in the mid-19th century, the first ball was made entirely of rubber. Wearing and tearing on the outside of the rubber eventually leads to efforts to create protective coverings.

The velvet cover is started to be sewn onto the ball, improving its durability and performance, eventually replacing the solid rubber core with pressurized gas.

Irving in Manchester

In the past, tennis has traditionally been black or more common white, depending on the color of the court.

When David Attenborough (now the most famous naturalist in the world) was BBC Two in the early days of television, all this changed.

As color televisions became more common in the late 1960s, Attenborough was determined to improve the quality of full-color broadcasts. He sent four color cameras to Wimbledon in 1967, deeming a popular sporting event the ideal canvas to bring colors into the American living room.

But white balls are often hard to reverse the court’s white line, with viewers struggling to tell the shots are in and out.

Attenborough recommends turning the color into something more noticeable. The International Tennis Federation conducted a series of tests to find out which colored balls are most clearly seen and eventually settled on the fluorescent yellow.

Yellow ball was first used at the U.S. Open in 1973 and then belatedly adopted at Wimbledon in 1986.

Robert in Brixton

Tennis players usually take three balls from the player before they get on the court.

They usually give back one, put one in their pocket, and hold the third one. The second ball is in your pocket, so if the first ball is wrong, you can continue the game without passing the other balls to the player.

When holding three balls, players usually check them through vision and touch before choosing which one to keep and which one to give back. They do this to try to gain an advantage.

Every time I play tennis, the internal air pressure is lost and the outside hair becomes more worn.

A ball with high air pressure and a smooth exterior will travel faster in the air, making it preferable to serve quickly.

Meanwhile, balls with air pressure and more wear-looking are more suitable for slower serving and more spin, which may be useful for a second serving.

Players evaluate their choices based on their game style and game status and determine which balls are best for them.

Beth in Essex

Each man and woman singles attracted 32 seeds in four Grand Slams. Sowing is determined based on the players’ ranking in the game. For the 2025 edition, the deadline is June 23.

For men’s singles, this is done through the player’s ATP Tour rankings. For women’s singles, use the WTA Tour rankings. Players seed in the order they rank.

Sometimes, if a higher ranking player exits, the number of seeds of the player may be higher than their rankings.

For example, Casper Ruud, Arthur Fils and Sebastian Korda will all be sown this year but withdraw due to injuries. As a result, Alex Michelsen, Tallon Griekspoor and Matteo Berrettini are Nos. 30, 31 and 32, respectively.

Seeds can also be ranked in men’s, women’s and mixed matches based on their rankings.

Craig in Wrexham

The All England Club was launched in 2009 along with the unveiling of the Central Court roof, announcing an 11 o’clock curfew in Wimbledon.

The curfew is used to “balance considerations for local residents with the scale of international tennis events that occur in residential areas”.

Another major consideration is the “transportation challenge” in and out of Wimbledon, with fans reducing public transport options in the evening.

Becky in Cumbria

Players use sunscreen before the game and may do so again during the change.

Sweating and using towels may reduce their efficacy, which is why players can sometimes be seen adding more protection to the game.

Reiner in Oxford

Now, in Wimbledon, the Line Judge is a thing of the past, and automatic telephone calls can be heard when the hitting a shot or serve player malfunctions.

Compared to Judge Bellows Line, players and fans complain that the sound is hard to hear.

The sound of the technology airing at the All England Club is the voice of its staff and tour guide behind the scenes.

Sarah in Derby and Nottingham

The cream used in the classic Wimbledon snack is double cream, which comes from British dairy.

There are also vegetarian options.

This article is the latest article from BBC Sport Ask me what team.

Ask me anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions. These questions were made by Chris at Sutton Coldfield, Heidi of Leeds, Zac of Lancashire, Zac of Chesterfield, Beth in Chesterfield, Essex, Sarah of Derby, Craig in Craig of Wrexham, Cumbria, Angela of Chichester, Angela of Chichester and Lorna of Oxfordshire. Thanks, all!

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