As part of The No.1 Court Celebration, the Wimbledon Foundation is running an online auction of tennis memorabilia and unique experiences from 20 April until 20 May.

There are 50 prizes on offer including the opportunity to play tennis with Tim Henman at Wimbledon; VIP tickets to each of the Grand Slam finals; items autographed by Wimbledon champions including Rod Laver, Ann Jones, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova; a weekend in Paris courtesy of The Championships’ Official Outfitter Ralph Lauren; and the ultimate champagne tasting tour in Reims courtesy of The Championships’ Official Champagne Lanson.

The funds raised by the auction will be used by the Wimbledon Foundation to support a variety of causes in line with its four goals: strengthening our local community, supporting healthy and active lives, developing young people and helping those in need.

To mark the fifth anniversary of the Foundation and using the platform of The No.1 Court Celebration, the Wimbledon Foundation has partnered with the London Community Foundation to create a Homelessness Fund, which will be the beneficiary of a proportion of ticket proceeds from the No.1 Court Celebration.

While the No.1 Court will have a roof from this year onwards, an increasing number of Londoners are forced to live without a roof over their heads. In recent years homelessness has increased steadily, with a 73% increase in rough sleepers across England over the last three years alone.

The fund will provide multi-year grants to homelessness charities operating in our neighbouring boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth to help them increase their capacity and sustainability while delivering invaluable services for homeless Londoners. In addition, further funds will be set aside for larger pan-London homeless charities with a focus on young people and employability schemes.

Ian Hewitt, Chair of the Wimbledon Foundation said, “The Wimbledon Foundation has been very fortunate to work with many dedicated local charities and organisations since it was established five years ago. We are proud to support their hard work and commitment to meeting social needs and alleviating disadvantage in our community. It is our hope that the Homelessness Fund will make a substantial contribution over the next three years to address this growing social issue.”