What is the Wimbledon curfew? What to know of tennis major cutoff time

Tennis is not always played until there’s a winner in a match at Wimbledon.

The Wimbledon curfew can cut off a match just when it is getting good in certain cases. A match between Taylor Fritz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard was paused on June 30 in the first round of the fifth set with the curfew time approaching.

The match between Fritz and Perricard was resumed on July 1, with Fritz ― the 2024 US Open runner-up ― winning the fifth set to complete a comeback after losing the first two sets. The match was paused 45 minutes before the curfew, so it would not run over.

Here’s what you need to know about the Wimbledon curfew:

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What is the Wimbledon curfew?

• Wimbledon curfew time: 11 p.m. BST (6 p.m. ET)

The Wimbledon curfew time is set for a strict 11 p.m. BST (British Summer Time), which would be 6 p.m. ET. The rule came into place in 2009, when the Centre Court’s roof opened. According to The Independent in 2018, Wimbledon issued a statement about the curfew:

“The 11 p.m. 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.”

The curfew is generally strictly enforced, but has also been broken. In 2012, Andy Murray scored a final point to finish off a victory over Marcos Baghdati at 11:02 p.m. An umpire made the call to allow Murray to finish the final game instead of waiting until the following day to complete it.

Merton Council’s leader, Stephen Alambritis, praised the decision at the time: “Flexibility and common sense prevailed.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wimbledon curfew: What to know about major Grand Slam cutoff time