Kate sympathises with Emma Raducanu’s injury as the two meet at Wimbledon and the Princess of Wales recalls her childhood memories of waiting in the queue for the championships
- Princess of Wales said how she queued for tickets with her father and sister
- Raducanu surprised fans waiting in line yesterday with fellow player Jack Draper
- READ MORE: Wimbledon has been a true royal favourite down the decades
- Latest Wimbledon 2023 news, including schedule, travel updates and results
Kate was sympathetic as she talked to Emma Raducanu about her wrist injury at Wimbledon and also remembered her childhood days waiting in the queue for the championships.
The Princess of Wales told the 20-year-old British tennis star how she waited in line for tickets to Wimbledon with her father and sister, Pippa Middleton, when she was a little girl.
She said they would be waiting at ‘the crack of dawn’ and how much it meant to her being able to get ground passes and be a part of the atmosphere in the queue, after Raducanu herself surprised fans standing in line yesterday with fellow British tennis player Jack Draper.
Kate said: ‘They would have loved to have seen you,’ with Raducanu replying: ‘Yeah it was really fun. Yesterday we were there at 7.30 and it was packed.’
The British tennis hope, who had to miss Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, told the Princess of Wales she could get back to training within a month. ‘I bet you’re itching, especially when all of this is going on around you,’ Kate told her.
The Princess of Wales told the 20-year-old British tennis star how she waited in line for tickets to Wimbledon with her father and sister, Pippa Middleton, when she was a little girl
Being asked if she got to watch many matches, Raducanu said she wasn’t going to see a lot of them because it was too fresh given her injury.
Kate empathetically replied: ‘It’s a hard position to be in.’
While at Wimbledon, Kate also joined former tennis player Laura Robson to watch a little of the action ahead of the ceremony at 1pm, sitting in the crowd to watch Katie playing against Daria Saville.
As the heavens opened above SW19, Kate quickly took shelter beneath a Wimbledon umbrella, before play was halted due to the showers.
Later, she entered the Royal Box where she watched as her close friend Roger Federer was honoured in a special ceremony at the club.
Matches began on most courts shortly after 11 am at the All England Club, but the tarps came out as the rain came down about an hour later.
Kate managed to watch a little of Katie, who won her first WTA title at Nottingham and reached the semi-finals at Surbiton, before rain called off play.
The break came at a good time for the Brit – who is 6-5 down in the first.
Kate Middleton, 41, didn’t let the rain in London dampen her spirits as she arrived for her first visit to Wimbledon this year
Kate gave a nod to tennis whites today as she headed to Wimbledon to honour close friend Roger Federer in a special ceremony on Centre Court
Kate also greeted some ball girls and boys ‘putting their skills into action’ as she said on Instagram
At 1pm, the Princess of Wales watched as Roger Federer was joined by his wife Mirka on court and fans were treated to a special video montage of his best moments through the years.
The tennis player has become a friend of the Royals and the Middletons in the past few years, even attending the wedding of Kate’s sister Pippa to James Matthews in 2017.
Kate, 41, was among those enthusiastically applauding as Federer, 41, was honoured for his stellar sporting achievements on Centre Court following his retirement from the game last year.
Meanwhile his wife Mirka watched on in the Royal Box, where other guests included Prince Michael of Kent and his daughter Lady Gabriella and former Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha.
Afterwards, Kate sat next to Federer as they watched Briton Andy Murray defeat Ryan Peniston.
Wimbledon saw the highest attendance on day one of the tournament since 2015, organisers said.
Kate, 41, was among those enthusiastically applauding as Federer (right), 41, was honoured for his stellar sporting achievements on Centre Court following his retirement from the game last year
According to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), 42,815 people attended the championships on Monday, which means there were over 6,000 more spectators than last year when 36,603 people visited.
Michelle Dite, operations director for AELTC, told reporters that 11,500 people gained entry to the grounds via the queue on Monday.
She added: ‘We had our highest attendance at the championships on day one since 2015 yesterday.’
On Tuesday morning, fans in the queue were optimistic about their chances of watching the second day of the tournament after hold-ups at security frustrated spectators on Monday.
On day one, some spectators who had visited Wimbledon in previous years said the queue was the ‘worst’ they had seen.
Organisers said extra checks – put in place over concerns about protests – were to blame for the slow queue.
Some tennis fans even got creative by bringing a sofa to the queue.
The championships will run until July 16.
Source: Read Full Article
