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When is the Wimbledon curfew? What are the curfew rules? What's the latest finish at Wimbledon?
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Updated 07/07/2026 at 22:03 GMT+1
What time is the curfew at Wimbledon and what are the curfew rules? What is the latest finish in Wimbledon history? Can the curfew be broken? Play at Wimbledon can now continue into the late evening thanks to Centre Court and Court One both having a roof. However, there is a curfew in place which means players must finish playing at a certain time.
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It has become a regular occurrence at Grand Slams to see players competing deep into the night, sometimes into the early hours of the morning.
At the 2024 US Open, Aryna Sabalenka started her second-round match at 12.08am local time and didn't finish until 1.48am. At the 2024 Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev's second-round match concluded at around 3.40am in Melbourne.
But at Wimbledon things are different, which has led to some occasionally frantic efforts from organisers to keep things going.
That's because at SW19 a curfew is in place which prevents play continuing late into the night due to the impact it would have on local residents.
Stefanos Tsitsipas memorably won the last two sets to beat Andy Murray at Wimbledon in 2023 after the match was paused overnight due to a curfew. Novak Djokovic also needed two days that year to see off Hubert Hurkacz in the last 16.
Coco Gauff beat the curfew by two minutes at Wimbledon this year, pointing to her wrist after sealing victory in the last 16 just in time.
”I was looking at the clock the last service game," she said afterwards. "Honestly that match point I was going for serve and volley to finish it. This was probably my most dramatic match. I’m not used to racing against time."
Here’s everything you need to know about the curfew, including the cut-off time, the rules around it, and if there is any flexibility at all...
When is the Wimbledon curfew?
The Wimbledon curfew is at 23:00 local time.
It was introduced in 2009 for the opening of the Centre Court roof.
A statement from Wimbledon in 2018 regarding the curfew said: “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.”
The curfew was imposed by Merton Council when planning permission was granted for the Centre Court roof.
What are the curfew rules?
The curfew rule is that matches are not permitted to go beyond 23:00.
It has been enforced several times, including in 2018 when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal saw their semi-final suspended after the third set as the clock passed 23:00.
The match had only started at just after 20:00 following a six-and-a-half hour contest between big-servers Kevin Anderson and John Isner.
Djokovic and Nadal returned the next day and Djokovic won in five sets to reach the final.
In 2021, Nick Kyrgios saw his match against Ugo Humbert suspended with the pair locked at 3-3 in the fifth set.
Is there any flexibility with the curfew?
In 2023, the last-16 match between Novak Djokovic v Hubert Hurkacz was suspended due to the approaching curfew, much to the disappointment of onlooking fans.
However, on occasion, the curfew rules have been pushed very slightly.
In 2012, Andy Murray wrapped up his win against Marcos Baghdatis at 23:02.
Murray was a game from victory when the clock hit 23:00, and was allowed the chance to wrap it up rather than come back the next day to finish it off.
Merton Council’s leader Stephen Alambritis said that “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.”
Murray's win over Baghdatis is the latest-ever finish at Wimbledon, beating a record set in 2010 when Novak Djokovic just avoided getting cut off by the curfew as he beat Olivier Rochus in a match that finished at 22:58.
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Djokovic was down two sets to one when the light was deemed insufficient to continue, so the roof was closed, which caused around a 35-minute delay.
When the players returned, Djokovic fought back to win the match just before the curfew.
"You don't get to see a lot of late-night matches in Wimbledon history," said Djokovic afterwards.
"Now with having the roof and lights gives us the opportunity. I'm happy in a way that my name is in the history books from playing late at night and I'm happy just to get a win."
Djokovic also wrapped up a win against Tim van Rijthoven at 22:39 in 2022 and Harmony Tan completed her shock win over Serena Williams with the curfew time approaching.
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