Inflation hits Wimbledon strawberry

22 June 2008 12:14pm

Aside from being the world's greatest grass court tournament, Wimbledon is also an important money-spinner for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the body which runs the sport in Britain.

Last year, the Championships raised more than £25 million for the development of the game - down from a record of over £33 million in 1998.

Inflation has finally hit SW19 this year, with the price of a serving of strawberries and cream going up for the first time since 2003.

Fans will now have to pay £2.25 rather than £2 for their punnet of "not less than 10" Grade I berries, brought in from farms in Kent at 5.30am every morning of the tournament.

In all, 1,700 catering staff will serve food and drink at the tournament, with spectators expected to get through 300,000 cups of tea and coffee, 190,000 sandwiches, 150,000 glasses of Pimm's and 30,000 portions of fish and chips.

Wimbledon remains the only grand slam tennis tournament where spectators can buy top tickets on the day - 500 tickets are available on the turnstiles for each of Centre, Number 1 and Number 2 courts for all but the last four days of the competition.

Centre Court ticket prices range from £38 - £57 for the first week, going up to £91 for the final Sunday.

Demand for these tickets is extremely high, with devoted fans going to extraordinary lengths, including camping outside the ground for days on end to get a coveted show court seat.

The less die-hard spectators can get ground admission tickets, which will gain entry to the outer courts, for £20 in the first week.

For those lucky enough to get into the redeveloped Centre Court, the tournament's first bookable restaurant has opened this year. The Wingfield Restaurant will take reservations for a fixed-price three-course lunch.

© The Press Association