We are at the sharp end of The Championships now.
Congratulations to CoCo Vandeweghe, Garbine Muguruza, Timea Bacsinszky, Madison Keys, Vasek Pospisil and Gilles Simon in notching up their first Wimbledon quarter-final appearance – which, as well as £241,000 in prize money, earns them an invitation to join The Last 8 Club in recognition of their part “in creating the special heritage of the world’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament”.
The invitation comes from Philip Brook, Chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and life entitlements include a photo-pass to access The Grounds every day of The Fortnight, a guest pass, use of a private hospitality suite, daily match tickets for Centre and No.1 Courts and a cocktail party on the second Tuesday of The Championships.
Those who frequent the Club’s facilities tend to be "quite senior". Coffee, tea, lunch and afternoon tea refreshments are on offer, fuelling excited reminiscences and expert running commentaries as the Last 8ers watch today’s competitors in action on television together.
The Club was inaugurated in 1986 as part of the 100th Championships' celebrations in recognition of “the contribution made to lawn tennis by players who have reached the quarter-finals of the singles, the semi-finals of the gentlemen's and ladies’ doubles or the final of the mixed doubles”. Ann Jones chairs the club. Membership stands at approximately 630, and is added to every year. Last year 174 erstwhile quarter-finalist attended.
Regular attendees have included Maria Bueno, Frew McMillan, Betty Stove, Angela Barrett, Manolo Santana, Budge Patty, Neale Fraser, Judy Dalton and the Woodies (aka Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde). Rod Laver has been known to pop in to the hospitality suite, which is situated by Gate 5 and provides drinks, food, comfortable seats and television. In 2012, Frank Sedgman visited – the last person to win the singles, doubles and mixed doubles in a single year.
Wimbledon was the first Grand Slam to offer hospitality to players of such stature, but all the other Slams have since followed suit. “It is to offer a sense of belonging to players who have given the public great entertainment on the courts but return later and find themselves a nobody,” says Tony Gathercole, a former Assistant Referee who is in his 52nd year at Wimbledon, and his 12th year looking after the Last 8 Club.
“Buzzer [R.E.H. Hadingham], who was then Chairman, thought it was a bit unfair that players came back as Joe Public and wanted to create a way in which these players could meet each other, out of the public gaze, and enjoy the tennis together.
“Some of our members are also members of the All England Club, of course, but they sometimes prefer to come here where it is quiet, relaxing, much less formal and they can watch the matches on television and see their old mates. We offer free tea and coffee and we have a 6-7pm Happy Hour every day,” says Tony, who also has a daily allocation of 12 tickets to distribute for Centre Court and six for No.1 Court.
Despite new members joining every year – including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Robin Soderling, Petra Kvitova, Sabine Lisicki and Eugenie Bouchard in the last few years – the average age of regular attendees ranks as veteran. “We don’t see the youngsters for a good few years,” acknowledges Gathercole. “They tend to become coaches or move into TV roles. Members like Tracy Austin, John McEnroe and Tim Henman are too busy at the moment.”