Wimbledon is top-of-the-line sporting events Britain has to supply, but there’s a slight issue.
If games go on for too long into the evening, there’s a curfew in place.
With the 2025 edition underway, America’s Taylor Fritz is one player who has already been stopped by the curfew.
Alexander Zverev’s first-round match was also suspended on Monday, with the players having to return back and finish their games off at one other time.
In fact, it isn’t a perfect situation for players and spectators, but there’s a superb reason for it.
What’s the Wimbledon curfew?
Matches on Centre Court and No.1 Court can go on late into the evening when the roofs are deployed.
But even matches on those courts must stop sooner or later, with the official curfew each evening coming at 11pm.
This has been in place since 2009 and might’t be negotiated.
It’s because to get the roof on Centre Court, the All England Club needed to comply with Merton Council’s requirement of a curfew or planning permission would not have been granted.
In an announcement in 2018, the All England Club said: “The 11pm curfew is a Planning Condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the size of a world tennis event that takes place in a residential area.
“The challenge of transport connectivity and getting visitors home safely can also be a key consideration.”
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The one rule is that matches cannot transcend 11pm, with the one exception being Sir Andy Murray’s against Marcos Baghdatis in 2012.
This was because at 11pm, the three-time Grand Slam champion was only one game from victory, and it officially ended at 11:02pm.
Nonetheless, that’s the only exception to the rule, and it explains why Zverev and Fritz had their matches postponed.
After two long sets, Zverez saw his contest on Centre Court versus Arthur Rinderknech suspended.
The more controversial decision got here for Fritz.
The American got here from 5-1 down within the fourth set tie-breaker in his contest with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, but with 45 minutes until the curfew, the match was called off.
It wasn’t a well-liked decision with many, including Fritz, who felt the tie must have carried on closer to the deadline.
He later revealed on Instagram that his opponent didn’t need to carry on, which is why the tie was postponed to this point away from the curfew.
He said: “They’d’ve allow us to play if my opponent agreed to, I said I desired to he didn’t.”
Nonetheless, he did return on the second day to win the fifth set 6-4 and seal his place in the following round.
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Wimbledon 2025: The way to follow
Wimbledon began on Monday, June 30.
The tournament shall be played over 14 days, with it coming to an in depth on Sunday, July 13.
The lads’s singles final is scheduled for the ultimate day of play.
Meanwhile, the ladies’s singles final shall be held a day earlier on Saturday, July 12.
The whole thing of Wimbledon shall be broadcast free-to-air on the BBC.
Coverage shall be split between BBC One and BBC Two, in addition to online via BBC iPlayer, the BBC website and their mobile app.
talkSPORT can have live updates from SW19 throughout the tournament too.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the web site, click HERE for the live stream.
It’s also possible to listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
On top of that, talkSPORT.com shall be across all of the most recent news and build-up.