What time is the Wimbledon curfew?

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Louise Thomas

Editor

Wimbledon is back but unlike the three other grand slams, there will be no late-night finishes at the Championships.

Last month’s French Open saw Novak Djokovic play until after 3am in the morning, while at the Australian Open at the start of the year Daniil Medvedev did not complete a five-set comeback until 3:39am.

Centre Court and No. 1 Court have used their roofs to ensure extra tennis is played late into the evening. But there is a limit to how late the action can last at SW19, even with the roof and floodlights able to give fans an extended day out.

Wimbledon’s curfew came into play repeatedly during last year’s Championship, notably when Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas’ second-round match was suspended after three sets.

Here’s everything you need to know about the curfew.

When is the Wimbledon curfew?

The Wimbledon curfew is at 11pm local time (6pm ET) and has been in place since 2009 when Centre Court’s roof opened, introduced by Merton Council in order to obtain planning permission for the roof.

A statement from Wimbledon in 2018 read: “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.”

What are the curfew rules?

The rules state that a match is not permitted to go beyond 11pm (6pm ET).

Matches that have been paused include Novak Djokovic against Rafael Nadal in their 2018 semi-final after the third set, having started at 8pm.

Nick Kyrgios and Ugo Humbert had their match suspended when tied at 3-3 in the fifth set too.

Is there any exception to the curfew?

The curfew has been pushed slightly back in 2012. Andy Murray beat Marcos Baghdatis with the clock striking 11:02pm local time. Murray was just one game from victory at 11pm.

Merton Council’s leader Stephen Alambritis commented at the time, stating: “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.”

The next latest match to finish was in 2010 when Novak Djokovic beat Olivier Rochus with two minutes to spare, finishing at 10:58pm.