The All England Lawn Tennis Club was delighted to host its fifth annual Community Open Weekend earlier this month, offering local residents living close to the SW19 Grounds the opportunity to enjoy everything Wimbledon has to offer.
Since 2021, more than 4,500 guests have attended the Community Open Weekends and this year, the free, balloted event proved as popular as ever, with more than 1,200 guests visiting across both days.
Community Sports
Activities kicked off on Friday with a community sports event hosted by the Merton School Sports Partnership (MSSP), with support from the All England Club and Merton Council.
Coinciding with the announcement that the All England Club will extend its funding support of MSSP; a significant investment of £120,000 over two academic years to support high-quality physical education and school sport across Merton. This funding is in addition to Merton Council’s support of MSSP, which forms a key component of the Council’s ambition to become the Leading Borough for Sport.
Run by MSSP – which plays a vital role in delivering physical education, teacher training and school sport across the borough of Merton – the showcased how the All England Club and Merton Council are working together to strengthen the grassroots sport and physical education on offer to ensure local children can access high-quality, inclusive physical activity.
On the day, pupils from a number of local primary schools took part in inclusive, movement-based and team-building activities, with Year 5 and 6 pupils acting as sports leaders as part of MSSP’s new Activate Festival model.
This worthwhile event, attended by Councillor Ross Garrod, Leader of Merton Council, gave our team the opportunity to observe children taking part in the games and speaking with participating pupils, teachers, sports leaders and representatives from MSSP.
The Open Weekend
Families were invited to Wimbledon’s Community Open Weekend on Saturday 7 February and Sunday 8 February. There were morning and afternoon session on each day, allowing a relaxed and fun opportunity to find out more about the All England Club (home of The Championships, Wimbledon) and the work that Wimbledon does across communities, while exploring the Grounds and enjoying a range of activities for the whole family.
This year’s theme centred around Food and Drink in connection with the A Slice of History: Food and Drink at Wimbledon exhibition being held in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.
A series of guided tours of the Grounds ran throughout the weekend including family-friendly activities, and exclusive access to Centre Court, delivered by Wimbledon’s own Blue Badge Guides.
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum was open throughout the event, providing visitors with the chance to travel through the history of the Championships, to see the trophies up close and experience the Slice of History exhibition.
Deborah Jevans CBE, Chair of the All England Club, said:
“We are always pleased to welcome the local community to our Grounds so they can explore and enjoy all that Wimbledon has to offer. This year’s Community Open Weekend was particularly special as we are celebrating both the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative and the Wimbledon Learning Programme reaching 25 years of working in schools in Merton and Wandsworth.”
In addition to the many local residents in attendance, special guests during the weekend included Mayor of Merton Martin Whelton, Mayor of Wandsworth Jeremy Ambache, Paul Kohler, MP for Wimbledon, and Merton Councillor Edith Macauley MBE.
Rufus the Hawk, famous for scaring off the pigeons during The Championships, was a popular attraction for guests of all ages, while the Wimbledon groundstaff and gardeners were on hand to answer many questions from enthusiasts about turf care and planting. Ulrika Högberg, Head of Community Strategy and Paige Murphy, Head of the Wimbledon Foundation, were also available to answer any questions regarding the initiative and the wider work of the Wimbledon Foundation.
Guests visiting the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum enjoyed a rare chance to explore the library, which houses the world’s finest collection of tennis books, publications and newspaper articles, plus the library’s newest addition – scrap books about Andy Murray’s tennis career, generously donated by his late grandparents, Mr and Mrs Erskine.
More information about free community events held by the All England Club can be found on our Community and Neighbours Page and tickets for the Museum and Tour are available here.
You might also enjoy reading more about our events in our diary/
