No exceptions: only main draw players are allowed inside the All England Club.
“I thought: ‘Wait, am I still a player or not?’ It’s tough when that happens. But those little things that bother you — if you end up qualifying, they make you even happier,” said the former world No. 17, who has played the main draw 13 times and was seeded 22nd just last year.
“I told my coach: ‘If I lose here, I’m going home. I won’t even see the stadium this year — which is actually pretty sad.’”
Mannarino used the frustration as fuel. He won three matches in Roehampton and earned a new badge — one that grants him access to the grounds. He’ll face Australian Christopher O’Connell in the first round.
Roger Federer once shared a similar story, full of humour. On The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he recalled his own run-in with security.
While duing a qick medical stop over in London in late 2022, Federer had some free time before a flight and decided to stop by Wimbledon for a cup of tea.
“I tell my coach Severin [Lüthi], ‘I’ll talk to the security lady — I’ll handle this,’” Federer said, before pausing and adding: “I didn’t.”
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“So I get out and I say, ‘Hi, I was wondering how I can get into Wimbledon. Where’s the gate?’” Federer continued. “And she says: ‘Do you have your membership card?’ And I go: ‘We have one?’”
Wimbledon champions are awarded lifetime memberships, and Federer did receive his when he got his first title in 2003. But he admitted it was probably “somewhere at home.”
“I tell her, ‘Normally, when I’m here, I’m playing, it’s very busy, I enter through a different gate. This is my first time coming when there’s no tournament, so I’m just asking again: where do I go in?’”
“And she replies: ‘Around the side, but you need to be a member.’”
“I look at her again, now panicking,” Federer said. “I still can’t believe I said this. I still feel bad. I look at her and say: ‘I’ve won this tournament eight times. Please believe me. I’m a member. Where can I go in?’”
She maintained her position. Federer walked back to the car, drove to another gate — where he was finally recognised — and was let in. Club chairman Ian Hewitt welcomed him, and what could have been an awkward rejection turned into a charming story.
