The Wimbledon Ballot is the official public lottery for tickets to The Championships, Wimbledon, run by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). The Championships 2027 marks the 150th staging of the tournament, scheduled for Monday 28 June to Sunday 11 July 2027 at the All England Club on Church Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 5AG. Wimbledon is one of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, alongside the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. It is the only Grand Slam played on grass. The Public Ballot for 2027 opened on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and closes at 23:59 British Summer Time (BST) on Monday 14 September 2026. This article sets out the application dates, eligibility rules, selection process, odds and alternative ticket routes for the 2027 edition.
- What Is the Wimbledon Ballot?
- When Does the Wimbledon 2027 Ballot Open and Close?
- Who Is Eligible to Enter the Wimbledon 2027 Ballot?
- How Do You Apply for the Wimbledon 2027 Ballot?
- How Does the Wimbledon Ballot Draw Work?
- What Are the Odds of Winning the Wimbledon Ballot?
- What Happens After a Successful Wimbledon Ballot Application?
- What Is the LTA Advantage Ballot?
- What Is the Wheelchair Ballot?
- What Are the Alternatives to the Public Ballot?
- What Is the History of the Wimbledon Ballot?
- What Tips Improve the Chances of a Successful Application?
- Why Does the Wimbledon Ballot Matter for the 2027 Championships?
What Is the Wimbledon Ballot?
The Wimbledon Ballot is a free, randomised lottery operated by the All England Lawn Tennis Club that allocates tickets for Centre Court, No.1 Court, No.2 Court and No.3 Court at The Championships to members of the public, including overseas applicants.
The AELTC runs the ballot to distribute tickets fairly across all four show courts: Centre Court, No.1 Court, No.2 Court and No.3 Court. Each court hosts different stages of the men’s singles, women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles events. The ballot operates separately from the Wimbledon Queue and from Debenture tickets, which are long-term bonds sold directly by the AELTC. Entry to the Public Ballot costs nothing. Applicants create a myWimbledon account, the official registration system for ticket communications, and submit one application during the open window. The system does not sell tickets directly. It grants a chance to purchase a specific allocation if the applicant is drawn.
When Does the Wimbledon 2027 Ballot Open and Close?
The Wimbledon 2027 Public Ballot opened on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and closes at 23:59 BST on Monday 14 September 2026. The two-week window applies equally to applicants from the United Kingdom and from overseas.
British Summer Time (BST) is the United Kingdom’s daylight saving time zone, active from late March to late October. Applicants outside the UK should convert 23:59 BST to their local time zone ahead of the deadline. The AELTC treats every application within the window equally. An entry submitted on 1 September 2026 carries the same odds as an entry submitted on 14 September 2026. The Championships 2027 runs from Monday 28 June to Sunday 11 July 2027, marking the 150th year of the tournament since its founding in 1877.
Key Dates for the Wimbledon 2027 Ballot
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Public Ballot opens | Tuesday 1 September 2026 |
| Public Ballot closes | Monday 14 September 2026, 23:59 BST |
| LTA Advantage ballot opt-in window | Thursday 23 July – Monday 31 August 2026 |
| Ballot draw and offer emails | September to November 2026 |
| The Championships 2027 | Monday 28 June – Sunday 11 July 2027 |
Who Is Eligible to Enter the Wimbledon 2027 Ballot?
Any individual can enter the Wimbledon Public Ballot, whether resident in the United Kingdom or overseas. Entry is limited to one application per household, one per email address and one per myWimbledon account.
The AELTC permits one entry per household. Multiple applications from the same address invalidate all associated entries, regardless of the number of residents at that address. Overseas applicants follow the identical process to UK applicants, using the same online form and the same random draw. The AELTC requires a full permanent home address during registration to verify household eligibility. A successful applicant receives an offer of two tickets, seated together, or can select a single ticket by ticking the relevant option on the application form.
How Do You Apply for the Wimbledon 2027 Ballot?
Applicants register a free myWimbledon account on the official Wimbledon website, opt in to ticket communications, and submit one online application through the Public Ballot page during the open window, between 1 and 14 September 2026.
Creating a myWimbledon Account
myWimbledon is the AELTC’s official account system for ticket applications, purchase confirmations and event communications. Registration requires a name, email address, permanent home address and a password. Applicants should opt in to “Tickets and Ballot” communications inside account settings. This setting controls whether the AELTC sends ballot results and offer emails to that account.
Completing the Ballot Application
The online application form asks for household details, a preference for a pair of tickets or a single ticket, and confirmation of the permanent address. The form does not ask for a preferred court, day, player or match. Applicants submit the form once. A second submission from the same household is rejected or invalidates prior entries. Confirmation of a submitted application arrives by email immediately after submission.
How Does the Wimbledon Ballot Draw Work?
After the application window closes, the AELTC runs a computerised random draw across all valid entries. The system allocates a specific court, date and seat pair to each successful entry, with no applicant input on those variables.
The draw treats every valid application with equal probability, independent of submission date, application history or previous unsuccessful entries. The AELTC does not give priority to applicants who entered in prior years without success. Draw output is a fixed allocation: one court among Centre Court, No.1 Court, No.2 Court or No.3 Court, one date within the two-week Championships, and two seats or one seat, based on the applicant’s original selection. Applicants cannot exchange a specific allocation for a different date or court after the draw runs.
What Are the Odds of Winning the Wimbledon Ballot?
The AELTC does not publish official ballot statistics. Independent estimates from ticket analysts and media guides place overall success at approximately one in ten applications. Odds for second-week Centre Court sessions run lower than this overall estimate.
Historical figures published in 2011 indicated approximately four applications for every available ballot ticket at that time. Demand has increased since then. The Championships 2025 recorded more than 548,000 total spectators across the two-week event, with new single-day attendance records set on Day 9, Day 11 and Day 12. Sustained high attendance correlates with sustained high demand for the ballot. The one-in-ten estimate applies across the combined pool of Centre Court, No.1 Court, No.2 Court and No.3 Court offers. Odds for premium sessions, such as second-week Centre Court matches, run lower than the blended average, because fewer tickets exist for those sessions relative to demand.
What Happens After a Successful Wimbledon Ballot Application?
Successful applicants for the 2027 ballot receive an offer email from the AELTC, expected from October 2026 onward, specifying a court, date and seat allocation. Applicants pay the face value within a fixed payment window to confirm the tickets.
The AELTC contacts successful applicants by email on a rolling basis, historically running from October through November of the year before the Championships. Each offer email specifies the exact court, date and price. Applicants who accept must pay within a stated deadline, typically 14 days from the offer date, based on the prior ballot cycle. Published prices for the 2027 Championships place Centre Court seats between £85 on the opening day and £255 to £400 for the singles finals. No.1 Court seats start at £75. Grounds passes, which grant access to outer courts and public areas without a reserved show-court seat, start at £35 during the first eight days of the tournament. Applicants who decline an offer do not receive an alternative allocation within the same ballot cycle. Ballot tickets carry the named applicant and are non-transferable outside the household.
What Is the LTA Advantage Ballot?
The LTA Advantage Ballot is a separate ticket route operated by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), Britain’s national governing body for tennis, open only to LTA Advantage members holding the Fan+, Play+ or Compete membership tier.
The LTA Advantage opt-in window for the 2027 Championships runs from Thursday 23 July to Monday 31 August 2026, ahead of the AELTC Public Ballot’s own window. The free basic Fan membership tier does not qualify for this ballot; only the paid tiers, Fan+, Play+ and Compete, gain entry. The LTA draw runs from September through November 2026, with the organisation contacting successful members on a rolling basis rather than on one fixed results date. Applicants can enter both the AELTC Public Ballot and the LTA Advantage Ballot for the same year, since the two systems operate independently.
What Is the Wheelchair Ballot?
The Wheelchair Ballot is a dedicated draw for spectators requiring a wheelchair space or an accessible seat, run alongside the standard Public Ballot on a similar September timetable, using a separate application form.
Applicants requiring a wheelchair space, or applying alongside a companion who requires one, complete an additional accessibility form during registration. The Wheelchair Ballot allocates spaces on Centre Court, No.1 Court and No.2 Court, positioned in designated accessible viewing areas. The AELTC processes this ballot on a comparable window to the standard Public Ballot, with exact dates confirmed each year separately through official Wimbledon accessibility guidance.
What Are the Alternatives to the Public Ballot?
Three main alternatives exist for spectators who do not win the ballot: the Wimbledon Queue for same-day tickets, official hospitality through Keith Prowse, and Debenture tickets, the only legally resalable Wimbledon tickets.
Each alternative route carries different costs, availability and planning requirements. The Queue provides the only free, ballot-independent path to a show-court seat. Hospitality and Debenture routes involve significantly higher costs than face-value ballot or Queue tickets.
The Wimbledon Queue
The Wimbledon Queue is a same-day, on-site ticket line at Wimbledon Park, a short walk from Southfields station on the London Underground District line. Stewards issue each arrival a dated, numbered Queue Card, which fixes a position in line but does not guarantee a ticket. The AELTC releases approximately 500 tickets each day for Centre Court, No.1 Court and No.2 Court through the Queue, except during the final four days of the Championships, when Centre Court tickets are not available through this route. One ticket sells per person, and Queue tickets are non-transferable. Applicants require a myWimbledon account and the Wimbledon app, scanned at the point of purchase. Overnight camping is common ahead of high-demand days. AELTC rules permit two-person tents only, require one person to remain with each tent at all times, and prohibit gazebos, barbecues and open flames. Stewards wake campers between 5:30 am and6:00 amm to dismantle tents before the Grounds open. Left-luggage facilities open at 5:30 am. Spectators who do not secure a show-court ticket can purchase a Grounds Pass, which grants access to outer courts and public areas of the venue while passes remain available.
Debenture Tickets
Debenture tickets are five-year bonds issued by the All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc, a subsidiary of the AELTC, first introduced in 1920 to fund capital projects such as court and stadium construction. A Debenture holder receives a pair of tickets for every day of the Championships across the five-year term. Debenture tickets are the only Wimbledon tickets that AELTC rules permit holders to legally resell or transfer to third parties. Public Ballot tickets and Queue tickets carry no resale rights; unauthorised resale voids those tickets and can result in a ban from future AELTC ticket allocations.
What Is the History of the Wimbledon Ballot?
The AELTC introduced the Public Ballot in 1924 as a fair method of distributing oversubscribed tickets to the general public. The system operated by postal application from 1924 until 2019, then moved to an online-only format from 2020 onward.
The Championships began in 1877 at the All England Club, making Wimbledon the oldest tennis tournament in continuous operation. The ballot system followed nearly five decades later, addressing consistent oversubscription among spectators seeking Centre Court and outer-court seats. Postal applications required physical forms mailed to the AELTC, typically ahead of a fixed December deadline, before the introduction of digital ticketing infrastructure. The AELTC moved the ballot online starting with the 2020 application cycle, standardising the myWimbledon account system across the ballot, the Queue and general ticket communications. The 2027 Championships mark the tournament’s 150th edition, a milestone anniversary dating from the founding year of 1877.
What Tips Improve the Chances of a Successful Application?
Entering with one valid household application, keeping myWimbledon account details current, and applying at any point within the window are the only factors within an applicant’s control, since AELTC selection is entirely random.
The AELTC draw does not weight applications by submission date. Entering on the first day of the window produces the same odds as entering on the final day. Duplicate applications from the same household reduce success rather than improving it, since the system flags and can invalidate multiple entries tied to one address. Keeping a myWimbledon account’s email address and password current prevents missed offer notifications, which carry a fixed payment deadline. Entering both the AELTC Public Ballot and the LTA Advantage Ballot, where LTA Advantage membership tier eligibility applies, increases the total number of independent draws an applicant enters for the same Championships. Selecting the single-ticket option, where available, does not alter the statistical odds reported by independent analysts, but it can affect the type of allocation offered relative to a pair of tickets.
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Why Does the Wimbledon Ballot Matter for the 2027 Championships?
The Wimbledon 2027 ballot decides access to the tournament’s 150th edition, a milestone year with sustained high demand. The ballot remains the primary route to affordable, face-value tickets across all four show courts.
The Championships 2025 drew more than 548,000 spectators, a figure that signals continued demand growth ahead of the 2027 anniversary year. The Public Ballot, alongside the Queue, keeps ticket access open to spectators without dependence on hospitality packages or Debenture ownership, both of which require substantially higher upfront costs. The AELTC’s random, one-entry-per-household model maintains equal odds across income levels and geographic locations, a structure the club has maintained since 1924. For the 2027 Championships, the ballot outcome for each applicant becomes clear between October and November 2026, ahead of play beginning on 28 June 2027.
