Hey, guys, welcome back to another Girl Gone London video.
This time I am basically reporting live from Wimbledon.
OK, so I've been to Wimbledon three times
now, it is, if you're not familiar, which most of you probably are, but it is
one of the premier tennis tournaments in the world.
And obviously it happens in Wimbledon,
which is kind of on the outskirts of London.
So we traveled down from where we live
in the south, east, further south beyond London.
And now we are in the grounds we were
going to have outdoor tickets, which basically means that you can't go
on like the main course that you see on TV, the real, like, big players.
And those are really fun.
But it was supposed to rain today.
So we managed to get to first court or is it Court 1?
I don't know how they say it tickets.
So we are actually going to go see some
pretty big name players play today and I'll take you along and show you around.
So let's get going.
OK, so for today's question, I want you to comment below and tell me,
have you been to Wimbledon or would you like to go to Wimbledon?
Have you heard of Wimbledon?
I know most of my British audience.
Of course I've heard of Wimbledon, you idiot.
But some of you watch from other
countries, so just let me know what your thoughts.
Are you a tennis person, not a tennis person.
That's today's question.
So leave your answer in the comments.
OK, so these are some of the ground courts
and you can literally on these ground courts get right up next to play.
Right now, everything is covered because
it's been raining and they have to preserve the grass.
But if you come over here,
I'll get my cameraman to come over here and show you just how close you can get.
So behind me is called Henman Hill or
Murray Mound, and these are famous British tennis players, Andy Murray is Scottish,
was headmen, English, had English, my husband is telling me.
And so on this mound, basically,
they play the game on center court on the TV for everyone who doesn't have
tickets and people gather here, these are just replays right now because
it's still early in the morning and play hasn't started.
But this is a really nice area to just
chill out, bring a picnic blanket, bring some food.
We may have packed some Pizza Hut pizza in my backpack here.
So we're well prepared.
So maybe later, if we wanted to see the center court game,
we've come out here and watch it from the outside.
So this board behind us is telling us who has won the most recent matches
and obviously it whittles down to find the actual winner of Wimbledon.
And as you walk around, kind of pay attention to the colors,
how everyone is dressed and how everything feels very in keeping and traditional.
So this competition is particularly known for tradition.
And of course, it is because we're in England.
So you'll see the players wearing all white that is mandated.
They've got certain traditions like skipping the middle Sunday of play,
which is actually not becoming a tradition anymore after next year.
But it's very much about the way things have always been and carrying that on.
And it's a very esteemed feeling.
Some may call it pretentious, but to the English,
this is definitely a really cherished part of their culture and of the traditions.
So really excited to be here.
I kind of see some rain clouds threatening.
So we'll probably head our way over
to Court 1 and see who's starting the matches today.
So as you can see,
we've got lots of umbrellas in the crowd and it's actually still stopped for rain.
Oh, here we go.
So there's
this
shows
us.
But after that.
No,
thank you.
OK, so as you just heard there, stop and play until one o'clock.
So I think if I can get my husband to zoom
in on the the screen, that shows you they basically started
playing this morning and now they've had to stop because of the rain.
I think last well, not last year, because last year was covid,
but the year before we got a really, really sunny Wimbledon.
But obviously this is the U.K. So they do have to contend with the weather.
So I'm actually really, really glad now that we have tickets for one of the courts
and because center and the first the first court Court 1 either, I don't know.
So tell me down below.
And they have roofs that go over so they can continue playing in case of rain.
So, yeah, we're definitely going to escape this impending oncoming storm and get
ourselves situated under the roof on Court 1.
Hey, guys, Kalyn from the future here.
Before we head into the court,
I wanted to show you some footage from the tennis museum on Wimbledon grounds.
This museum is open most of the year for anyone to enter.
And it's a fascinating look at the history of the tournament while we walk around.
Let me share with you some fast Wimbledon facts first.
Well, Wimbledon was the first the oldest
tennis tournament in the world starting in 1877.
Ball boys and girls here are selected from nearby schools and are trained really
seriously, almost a military style, four hours each week leading up
to the tournament to make sure they don't make a mistake.
And if you visited in 2010,
you might have seen the longest ever Wimbledon match,
which took 11 hours and five minutes and was played over three days.
As I say in other parts of the video,
the history and tradition of Wimbledon isn't just about tennis.
It's closely interwoven into the history of England and all its different stages,
from World War two to covid canceling last year's tournament to social issues.
It's really not just tennis playing out on center court for the world to see.
You should also know that Wimbledon only
partners with very specific, time honored brands from the golden Rolex
clocks around the grounds to Slazenger tennis balls to IBM.
The Wimbledon partner brands are as important to the Wimbledon experience as
the purple and green, the grass and the strawberries and cream
in case it's not obvious and the rest of the video.
I love Wimbledon and the atmosphere here.
OK, now let's head back to the court.
Oh, here's gangway 35, we're here.
But
we step through that.
Now
we're here on the first Court 1 and we're
going to see which I think might be the last row I saw come with me.
OK, so we made it to our seats, we are five rows from the top,
so that was pretty good for a last minute purchase, not the absolute last row.
And we actually have a really good view.
So I'll have the camera going at points.
You can kind of see what it looks like.
I'm assuming it's going to fill up more
because there are a lot of empty seats, but currently it's looking a little empty.
So we'll see really what happens.
Yeah.
OK, so a quick update for you, I'm now sitting on an unused court seven,
we just finished with our first match on Court 1.
I have to get my head Court 1 Court 1 not first caught.
And we just heard an announcement that day.
There is a currently a little bit
of a sunny spell, but of course they're expecting a heavy rain shower.
So I think they've only got to play like five games on these outside court.
So I'm really glad that we ended up
splurging for the Court 1 tickets this morning.
They are relatively expensive, about one hundred and twenty pounds per ticket.
We had some money saved up to do for my videos and to to show you all.
But I can be on the pricier side to sit
on the main courts, which is why people like to get the crowds court tickets.
I thought I should also mention that all like I know nothing.
I do know something about tennis.
I have played in one tennis tournament
in my life when I was like 12, and I think I really crumbled under the pressure.
But I don't really follow tennis these days.
And I would think that most people here aren't necessarily avid tennis viewers.
Obviously, there are going to be plenty,
but it's really about the atmosphere for a lot of people.
So when you see the strawberries and cream,
you know, just the beautiful flowers everywhere people come and they use
the restaurants, it's really kind of like a day out for people.
So even if you're not really into tennis, as they have worked really hard to make it
more about the experience than just watching the matches, if that makes sense.
But again, that goes back to the tradition of Wimbledon and experiencing all of that.
So this kind of looks like a fun, bouncy castle.
I kind of want to go run and jump on it,
but I suspect I would not be approved British citizenship then.
So I won't. But we're just wandering around and we've
got another match on a Court 1 coming up soon.
And like I said, they expect this guys to open up again.
So we'll head back inside.
OK.
So we've just finished quite a few hours
of Wimbledon watching on Court 1 at the last game, which was men's doubles,
lasted over three hours and went to five sets.
And that was very exciting to actually be on the ground watching it.
I have to say, it's kind of tiring watching other people exercise.
You don't realize with the ball going back and forth, you're kind of like lulled
into sleep by the end there, everyone was involved and the crowd was
really nice and now everyone is pretty much emptied out.
So we're just appreciating being on this court and making the money well spent.
The sun has come out, of course, at about eight o'clock.
So I don't think there was much play on the outside court today.
There was torrential rain, basically, for the most part.
So it's been nice to be indoors, but still enjoying some tennis.
So thanks for joining me today and I'll see you guys next time.