How Many Courts Does Wimbledon Have? Complete Court and Capacity Guide
Wimbledon is home to 18 courts in total across the All England Lawn Tennis Club grounds, ranging from the globally recognisable Centre Court to a series of outer courts used primarily for early-round matches and practice. This guide covers every main court at Wimbledon, their individual capacities, which courts have roofs, and how the grounds are laid out for spectators.
If you are planning a visit and want to understand your ticket and seating in more detail, our full Wimbledon seating plan guide is the most useful companion to this guide.
How Many Courts Does Wimbledon Have?
Wimbledon has 18 courts in total used during the Championships, consisting of the two show courts (Centre Court and No.1 Court), No.2 and No.3 Court (which are ticketed show courts with open seating), and 14 outside courts used primarily for first and second round matches and practice sessions. The total number has remained broadly stable in recent years, though the grounds have been progressively developed since the 1990s to improve spectator capacity and facilities.
| Court | Capacity | Roof | Notes |
| Centre Court | ~14,979 | Yes — retractable (since 2009) | Primary show court; finals venue |
| No.1 Court | ~12,345 | Yes — retractable (since 2019) | Second most prestigious court |
| No.2 Court | ~4,000 | No | Popular for early rounds; close sightlines |
| No.3 Court | ~2,000 | No | Intimately sized; strong atmosphere |
| Courts 4–18 | Varies (~1,000 to standing only) | No | Outside courts; free to watch from standing areas near courts |
Centre Court: Capacity and Key Facts
Centre Court is Wimbledon’s principal show court and the most famous tennis venue in the world. Its current capacity of approximately 14,979 spectators was reached following the completion of the retractable roof in 2009, which also added the permanent roof structure that slightly altered the overall capacity from the pre-roof configuration.
- The retractable roof can close in approximately 10 minutes, allowing play to continue uninterrupted when rain falls
- Centre Court hosts the men’s and women’s singles finals, as well as the most high-profile matches throughout the fortnight
- The Royal Box, positioned on the east side of the court, holds invited guests including members of the royal family and official dignitaries
- Debenture seats on Centre Court are held by long-term debenture holders for five-year terms and are among the most sought-after in world sport
No.1 Court: Capacity and Key Facts
No.1 Court is the second largest and second most prestigious venue at Wimbledon, with a capacity of approximately 12,345 spectators. The current No.1 Court was purpose-built and opened in 1997, replacing an older No.1 Court on a different site within the grounds, and was fitted with its own retractable roof — the second Wimbledon court to receive one — in 2019.
- The addition of the roof in 2019 significantly increased the value of No.1 Court tickets, since play is now guaranteed to continue regardless of weather
- No.1 Court has its own queue allocation through the famous Wimbledon Queue, alongside Centre Court access for earlier queue positions
- The slightly more compact bowl compared to Centre Court creates a distinctive atmosphere, particularly for evening sessions and tighter matches
No.2 and No.3 Court
No.2 Court, sometimes called the “Graveyard of Champions” due to its history of high-profile upsets in early rounds, holds approximately 4,000 spectators in seated and standing areas and has no roof. It is accessible via specific purchased tickets or sometimes included with certain grounds passes depending on availability.
No.3 Court is smaller still, with a capacity of approximately 2,000, and offers some of the most intimate match-watching at Wimbledon given the close proximity of spectators to the court. Like No.2, it has no roof and is primarily used in the first week of the Championships.
The Outside Courts
Wimbledon’s 14 outside courts (Courts 4 through 18 and practice courts) form the vast majority of the venue’s court count by number, though they account for a much smaller share of overall spectator capacity. These courts are used for first and second round matches across both the main draw and the qualifying tournament, and can be watched from standing areas surrounding the courts — one of the genuine pleasures of a Wimbledon grounds pass, since you can move freely between courts and follow matches at very close range.
- Outside courts have no permanent seating in most cases, with spectators watching from standing areas or temporary bank seating depending on the court
- Some of the most memorable Wimbledon moments have occurred on the outside courts in the early rounds, when top seeds occasionally face early exits in front of relatively small crowds
The Wimbledon Courts Map
The courts within the All England Club grounds are laid out across a roughly rectangular site on Church Road, with Centre Court and No.1 Court forming the dominant structures at the centre and north of the grounds respectively. The outside courts extend outward from these two main venues, with additional courts beyond the main grounds perimeter used for practice and qualifying rounds.
A detailed courts map is published by the All England Club and distributed to spectators on entering the grounds, showing the location of every court, all food and retail outlets, the accessible routes through the site, and the various entry gates for each court.
For the official Wimbledon grounds map and full court layout, see the official Wimbledon visitor information page. For seat-specific views on Centre Court and No.1 Court, see the seating guide at View From My Seat.
The History of Wimbledon’s Court Development
Wimbledon’s court layout has evolved significantly over the past three decades, driven primarily by investment in the main show courts and the need to accommodate growing spectator numbers. The original No.1 Court was positioned on a different site within the grounds and was demolished when the current No.1 Court was built and opened in 1997. The construction of a new, larger No.2 Court, which opened in 2009, significantly improved the quality of spectator experience for the third major ticketed court, replacing a smaller and less comfortable structure that had been in use for many years.
The two retractable roof projects represent the most significant infrastructure investment in Wimbledon’s recent history. Centre Court’s roof, completed in time for the 2009 Championships, was a landmark moment for the tournament, ending over a century of vulnerability to the British weather on the game’s most famous court. No.1 Court’s roof, completed in 2019, extended this guarantee to the second most important court and reinforced Wimbledon’s position as a venue where major matches are now effectively weather-proof.
Balls and Courts: What Surface Does Wimbledon Use?
All Wimbledon courts use natural grass, which makes the Championships the sole surviving Grand Slam tournament played on a grass surface. The grass courts are prepared to an extremely precise specification by the All England Club’s grounds staff, with the height and density of the grass closely monitored across the fortnight. The surface plays faster than clay or hard courts, contributing to the distinctive style of tennis — heavy serve, flat groundstrokes, and quick net approaches — associated with the Championships.
• Wimbledon uses Slazenger tennis balls, a partnership that has continued for well over a century and is the longest-running ball sponsorship in professional sport
• The grass is a specific blend of perennial ryegrass, maintained to a playing height of 8mm for the Championship courts
• Courts are used in rotation during the fortnight to manage wear, particularly on the outside courts
Seating by Court: What to Expect
The experience of watching from different courts at Wimbledon varies considerably depending on the court. Centre Court and No.1 Court are full stadium experiences with allocated seating, multiple tiers, concourse catering, and the closest equivalent to a theatre atmosphere in world tennis. No.2 and No.3 Court offer a mix of allocated seating and standing, with less formality and more flexible viewing. The outside courts, where spectators stand around the perimeter or find space on temporary bank seating, offer the most informal and genuinely interactive watching experience — standing close to the court with no separation from the players’ entry and exit routes.
Practice Courts and Qualifying
Beyond the 18 competition courts, the All England Club grounds and an adjacent site include additional practice courts used by players during the Championships. The qualifying tournament, which takes place the week before the main Championships begin, uses a separate venue at the Roehampton Club, meaning qualifying matches are not played on the main Wimbledon grounds themselves.
Practice sessions on the All England Club courts are visible to spectators within the grounds during some parts of the day on practice days, and glimpsing the world’s top players practising at close range on outside courts is considered one of the genuine inside privileges of a grounds pass by regular attendees.
Why the Court Count Has Stayed at 18
The total of 18 courts has remained broadly stable for several years, reflecting the physical constraints of the site in a residential south-west London neighbourhood where expansion is limited by the surrounding streets and buildings. The focus of recent investment has been on improving the quality and capacity of existing courts — particularly through the two roof projects — rather than adding more courts to the grounds. The All England Club has longer-term planning documents that consider future development of the site, but the publicly available information suggests the broad court count and layout is unlikely to change substantially in the near to medium term.
Understanding how many courts Wimbledon has, and what each one offers, is one of the more useful pieces of context for planning a visit — both for choosing between ticket types and for setting realistic expectations about what your day will look like once you are through the gates.
A grounds pass giving access to the outside courts and a Centre Court debenture seat offer completely different but equally valid Wimbledon experiences, and knowing which court configuration suits your priorities makes the ticket-buying decision considerably more straightforward.
Whether you are visiting for a single session on Centre Court or spending a full day working your way around the outside courts catching as many different matches as possible, the layout of 18 courts across the All England Club grounds gives Wimbledon its unique character as a place where the world’s best players and ordinary spectators share the same compact, carefully maintained site for two weeks each year.
That combination of intimacy and global prestige, played out across 18 courts of varying size and character, is what makes Wimbledon different from every other major tournament in world tennis.
For a deeper look at the seating available on the two main show courts and practical guidance on choosing between ticket types, see our companion guide to the Wimbledon seating plan.
And if you are still working out how to get hold of tickets in the first place, the resale and returns options available are covered in full detail in our separate guide to the ticketing routes.
However you end up accessing the courts at Wimbledon, the experience of watching live tennis in this setting — on any court, at any stage of the fortnight — remains one of the most distinctive in sport.
Wimbledon’s court count may be smaller than some comparable major venues, but the quality, history, and character of those 18 courts make them collectively the most celebrated collection of tennis courts in the world.
Additional Resources and Related Guides
Related: Wimbledon resale and returned tickets guide.
Bottom Line
| Total courts at Wimbledon | 18 (including show courts and outside courts) |
| Centre Court capacity | ~14,979 — retractable roof (since 2009) |
| No.1 Court capacity | ~12,345 — retractable roof (since 2019) |
| No.2 Court capacity | ~4,000 — no roof |
| No.3 Court capacity | ~2,000 — no roof |
| Outside courts (4–18) | No permanent seating; standing areas around courts |
| Courts map | Published by AELTC; given to spectators on entry |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many courts are at Wimbledon?
Wimbledon has 18 courts in total used during the Championships. These include Centre Court, No.1 Court, No.2 Court, No.3 Court, and 14 outside courts used for first and second round matches and practice. Centre Court and No.1 Court are the two show courts, both with retractable roofs.
What is the capacity of Centre Court at Wimbledon?
Centre Court at Wimbledon has a capacity of approximately 14,979 spectators. This capacity was established following the completion of the retractable roof in 2009. The court hosts the men’s and women’s singles finals and the most high-profile matches of the Championships fortnight.
What is the capacity of No.1 Court at Wimbledon?
No.1 Court at Wimbledon has a capacity of approximately 12,345 spectators. The court was purpose-built and opened in 1997, and received its own retractable roof in 2019, making it the second Wimbledon court to be fully covered against rain.
Does Wimbledon No.2 Court have a roof?
No, No.2 Court at Wimbledon does not have a retractable roof. Only Centre Court and No.1 Court have retractable roofs. No.2 Court holds approximately 4,000 spectators and is sometimes called the Graveyard of Champions due to its association with high-profile early-round upsets.
Can you watch tennis on the outside courts at Wimbledon?
Yes — spectators with a Wimbledon grounds pass can freely watch matches on the outside courts (Courts 4 through 18) from standing areas surrounding each court. These courts have no permanent seating in most cases, but offer extremely close viewing of matches in the first and second rounds and are considered one of the most enjoyable parts of the Wimbledon experience for many regular attendees.