When is the Wimbledon curfew? What are the curfew rules? What's the latest finish at Wimbledon?
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Updated 10/07/2023 at 15:27 GMT
What time is the Wimbledon curfew? What are the Wimbledon curfew rules? What is the latest finish in Wimbledon history? Can the curfew be broken? Play at Wimbledon can now continue into the late evening thanks to the roofs on Centre Court and Court One. However, there is a curfew in place which means players are required to finish playing at a certain time.
Alcaraz backs Kyrgios to challenge Djokovic at Wimbledon
It has become a regular occurrence at Grand Slams to see players competing deep into the night, sometimes into the early hours of the morning.
At last year’s US Open, Carlos Alcaraz didn’t finish his quarter-final against Marin Cilic until 2:23am local time, and at the Australian Open earlier this season Andy Murray didn’t start his second-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis until after 10pm - and finally finished it at 4.05am.
But at Wimbledon things are different, which has led to some occasionally frantic efforts from organisers to keep things going.
At SW19, is a curfew in place which prevents play continuing late into the night due to the impact it would have on local residents. That meant that when rain hit in South West London, the ambition to play 87 matches in the first week looked in danger, and so it proved. Add to that protests from Just Stop Oil, and it was always going to be a busy remainder.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has twice returned to complete a match the following day - once due to weather, once due to curfew - while Novak Djokovic also needed two days to see off Hubert Hurkacz in the last 16.
Thankfully, as the rounds have progressed, demands for time on the outside courts have reduced and more room has been made on the covered courts.
Here’s everything you need to know about the curfew, including the cut-off time, the rules around it, and if there is any flexibility at all...
When is the Wimbledon curfew?
The Wimbledon curfew is at 11pm local time.
It was introduced in 2009 for the opening of the Centre Court roof.
A statement from Wimbledon in 2018 regarding the curfew said: “The 11pm curfew is a Planning Condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the scale of an international tennis event that takes place in a residential area.
“The challenge of transport connectivity and getting visitors home safely is also a key consideration.”
The curfew was imposed by Merton Council when planning permission was granted for the Centre Court roof.
What are the curfew rules?
The curfew rule is that matches are not permitted to go beyond 11pm.
It has been enforced several times, including in 2018 when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal saw their semi-final suspended after the third set as the clock passed 11pm.
The match had only started at just after 8pm following a six-and-a-half hour contest between big-servers Kevin Anderson and John Isner.
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Kevin Anderson and John Isner played for over six hours
Image credit: Getty Images
Djokovic and Nadal returned the next day and Djokovic won in five sets to reach the final.
In 2021, Nick Kyrgios saw his match against Ugo Humbert suspended with the pair locked at 3-3 in the fifth set.
Is there any flexibility with the curfew?
This weekend, Novak Djokovic v Hubert Hurkacz was suspended due to the approaching curfew, much to the disappointment of onlooking fans.
However on occasion, the curfew rules have been pushed very slightly.
In 2012, Andy Murray wrapped up his win against Marcos Baghdatis at 11.02pm.
Murray was a game from victory when the clock hit 11pm, and was allowed the chance to wrap it up rather than come back the next day to finish it off.
Merton Council’s leader Stephen Alambritis said that “flexibility and common sense prevailed”.
“We were in touch with the All England Club from 10pm onwards and there were discussions between our planning officers and the tournament director,” he said.
“We have always said these prearrangements were to be used with discretion, so I was pleased flexibility and common sense prevailed, because we have a duty to both the residents as well as the tennis.”
Murray's win over Baghdatis is the latest-ever finish at Wimbledon, beating a record set in 2010 when Novak Djokovic just avoided getting cut off by the curfew as he beat Olivier Rochus in a match that finished at 10.58pm.
Djokovic was down two sets to one when the light was deemed insufficient to continue, so the roof was closed, which caused around a 35-minute delay.
When the players returned Djokovic fought back to win the match just before the curfew.
"You don't get to see a lot of late-night matches in Wimbledon history," said Djokovic afterwards.
"Now with having the roof and lights gives us the opportunity. I'm happy in a way that my name is in the history books from playing late at night and I'm happy just to get a win."
Djokovic also wrapped up a win against Tim van Rijthoven at 10.39pm last year and Harmony Tan completed her shock win over Serena Williams with the curfew time approaching.
Wimbledon starts on July 3 and Djokovic is set to be the leading contender for the men’s title.
He is bidding for an eighth Wimbledon win to equal Roger Federer’s record and also a 24th overall Grand Slam title, which would move him level with Margaret Court’s all-time record.
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