Wimbledon expansion: All England Club doubles down on new ‘show court’ plans

Wimbledon has doubled down on the biggest expansion plans in its 157-year history, deeming alternative proposals to build a new show court on the existing site as unworkable, bad for neighbouring residents and potentially unsafe.

In a 15-page rebuttal sent to campaigners, and seen by Telegraph Sport, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) revealed architect drawings that investigate the potential to build the new 8,000-capacity court on the existing 42-acre footprint.

It models a new show court on the northern tip of the site, within 16 metres of residential gardens on Bathgate Road, as well as at the southern tip near Somerset Road. It warns of a newly “imposing” built-up backdrop for residents and potential overcrowding inside the site.

Of the prospect of a new stadium behind Henman Hill where the practice courts are located, and which has been suggested in alternative plans for a smaller 5,000-capacity venue, the Wimbledon report said: “The Hill in particular is a major attraction in its own right and can often become full to capacity, at which point grounds-pass sales have to cease.

“It is a notorious hotspot which is constantly stewarded and it is felt that an increase in capacity of 8,000 to this location of the site would put undue increased pressure on an already congested area. Scenarios involving the evacuation of the new show court, No 1 Court and the Hill are particularly challenging in terms of egress and event safety.”

Wimbledon has been forced to turn fans away after reaching its 42,000-spectator capacity on each of the two opening days of the tournament this year and there have been reports of overcrowding in parts of the grounds. The AELTC wants to upgrade the site by repurposing land which it owns on the now disused Wimbledon Park golf course.

State-of-the-art show court

The AELTC’s preferred plans would triple the overall site, and provide 38 new courts for qualifying and practice, a state-of-the-art 8,000-capacity “parkland” show court, open 27 acres of parkland and transform the nearby lake. Two outside courts from the southern end of the site could potentially also move across Church Road to further ease fan congestion inside the historic old site.

The new show court would replace Court 2 as the third-largest arena at Wimbledon, with the AELTC fearing that the tournament would otherwise get left behind by rival grand slams, which all have significantly larger “third” courts.

By moving the practice courts into the proposed new grounds in Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon envisions spacious new entrances that would allow fans even without show court tickets to easily watch the leading players on the new practice courts. The daily capacity for the qualifying tournament, currently staged at Roehampton, would increase from 4,000 to 10,000.

“The show court is required to maintain Wimbledon as the premier tennis tournament in the world,” the Wimbledon document said, while promising to “sensitively” integrate it into parkland.

Wimbledon has integrated a new on-site player “wellness zone” this year – which includes a £128,000 Ammortal chamber (a capsule that combines red-light therapy, pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF), and molecular hydrogen) – and plans similarly hi-tech facilities around what it calls the “medium-sized” new show court. In the document, it promises “exceptional sightlines, audience comfort and a retractable roof” within a wider building that will provide players “with everything they need”.

Hospitality is also planned on the upper level, with views designed to spread across the site and nearby lake. “Set in a clearing, surrounded by veteran oak trees, the new show court will be designed to be ‘at one’ with the landscape,” Wimbledon said. When work on any of the plans might begin, however, remains uncertain. The Court of Appeal granted the Save Wimbledon Park group the chance to appeal the planning permission that the Greater London Authority approved in 2024. That appeal will be heard this year.

Save Wimbledon Park, which has been fighting the plans over the past five years and was outside the grounds protesting on Monday, believes the planned development would also breach covenants which limit development that were agreed with Merton Council when the AELTC acquired the underlying golf course freehold in 1993 for £5.2m.

Explored alternatives

Architects Ken McFarlane and Richard Rees, who has particular experience in tennis, drew up an alternative set of plans in December 2025, which campaigners have urged Wimbledon to seriously consider. Under this plan, the proposed new show court would have 5,000 seats rather than 8,000, an increase on the current Court 2 of 4,000 but still behind the equivalent “third” courts at Flushing Meadows (US Open) and Melbourne Park (Australian Open). The alternative plans would also extend the site on to the old golf course, but by 26 rather than 46 acres, and with 21 rather than 38 new courts and avoid additional building. They say the aim is to reduce spectator congestion by designing viewing areas with big screens at the lake, with a new boardwalk, and in a wooded area.

Wimbledon stressed that all relevant planning authorities – Merton, Wandsworth and the GLA – agreed that an 8,000-seat show court cannot be built on the existing site, but campaigners said they have refused to engage with their suggestions for a smaller new court. They described the 15-page document as “a very simplistic attempt to persuade the planners that it was 8,000 seats or nothing, with no mitigation or compromise possible”.

Campaigners fear that the building work and associated disruption could take at least a decade and believe that the artists’ impressions are based only on how it might all look in 20-plus years when trees have had the chance to grow and the land has matured. They also question whether the surrounding transport infrastructure, and capacity for the nearby park (not part of the plans but which hosts the Wimbledon queue) can cope with a daily increase in fans from 42,000 to 50,000.

“We are not Nimbys,” Simon Wright, of Save Wimbledon Park, said. “We are saying there is an alternative which is more environmentally friendly, which will incur less destruction and will provide a better fan experience while ensuring that Wimbledon does not get left behind.

“There is a lot of love for Wimbledon in our group – I love the Championships – but this is over-development. This is a long way from Wimbledon’s ‘Tennis in an English Garden’, and they are not listening. If you run a public consultation and then change nothing, it is not a consultation. We are not saying that this alternative plan is the last word, and that it can’t be improved. We would love for the architects on both sides to sit down together.”

A Wimbledon spokesman said the proposals would deliver “one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012”. They added: “They are crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis, one of the world’s best sporting events, and a global attraction for both London and the UK.

“On offer are substantial year-round benefits for our community and the delivery of significant social, economic, and environmental improvements.”