Thousands of fans joined the famous Wimbledon queue this morning as the latest edition of the tournament began.More than 9,000 fans queued this morning for tickets, with 45,000 spectators expected in the All England Club grounds today. Half a million fans are expected over the course of the two-week tournament, British interest in which suffered a blow before players took to the grass after Emma Raducanu pulled out.Raducanu, 23, had been set to play Croatian Antonia Ruzic on Court One today but withdrew because of a leg injury which was revealed to be a stress fracture.But there was still plenty of appetite for strawberries and cream in the SW19 queue, with pictures showing bleary-eyed fans emerging from their tents, wrapping up in blankets and even shaving.Some queued for days to secure tickets, including one fan who joined the line at 7.30am on Saturday to make sure she could watch her favourite player, Novak Djokovic.Florence Chan, from Hong Kong, once paid $500 (£378) to watch the 39-year-old Serb at the US Open and came to Wimbledon this year with friends she made in the queue at last year's Championships.She was carrying hand-painted portraits of Novak Djokovic featuring a goat in the background, artwork she hopes the seven-time champion will sign during the fortnight. A camper peered out from her tent in the queue at Wimbledon this morning as The Championships were set to get underwayOne man took the opportunity to shave in the midst of the campsite as Wimbledon prepared to return for 2026 But British No.1 Emma Raducanu was forced to withdraw from the tournament after a leg injury worsened to become a stress fracture Another spectator rested their eyes on the SW19 grass as more than 9,000 hopefuls queued for tickets There were rows of tents lined up in south west London for the queue, which the All England Club said was 'an iconic part of The Championships' Florence Chan, from Hong Kong, arrived on Saturday morning and took first place in the queueDjokovic, who is vying to win his first Wimbledon title since 2022, is expected on Centre Court after 4pm today for his tie with China's Wu Yibing. Ms Chan told the Mirror she loved the charm of the All England Club.'It's very impressive how grand it is. It's like nowhere else,' she said.Others had crossed continents for their first taste of Wimbledon.Evlyn Smith, 67, from Denver, Colorado, said: 'This is my first time in the queue and my first time in London. I love playing tennis and have always wanted to come down for this. But we only got here at 7.30 so we are a bit worried that we won't even make it in.' Evlyn Smith, 67, an American from Denver, Colorado, travelled with her husband from the US to take her place in the queue for the first time Some in the queue wrapped themselves in blankets this morning as temperatures dropped after last week's record-breaking temperaturesAlso in the queue was a pub landlord who has been in line for tournament tickets every year since 1992.Harry Taylor, 52, owns the Red Lion Inn in Bridge, Kent, and came to SW19 with a £300 heat-reflective tent, a 100-watt solar panel to charge his devices and a pair of video display glasses to watch the World Cup.He joined the queue shortly after Ms Chan at 9am on Saturday, taking 28th spot.Mr Taylor said: 'The All England Club do an excellent job and every year the queue improves drastically.'He added: 'Because of the World Cup I've got a projector screen which is equipped into my sunglasses - it's like sitting in a cinema screen.'Mr Taylor said his tent was 'worth every penny' after he escaped the balmy weekend temperatures.While the air outside the tent exceeded 30C, Mr Taylor said it remained 'cool' inside his tent.He is backing top seed Jannik Sinner to win the tournament - the defending champion is in action on Centre Court against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic at 1.30pm.The Italian, 24, will hope for a strong Wimbledon run after a shock second round exit last month at Roland Garros to Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo ended a 30-match winning streak.Mr Taylor said: 'There's only two people in it - Sinner and Djokovic - but I'll have to go for Sinner as they are on the same side of the draw.' Pub landlord Harry Taylor has pitched his tent in the queue for every Championships since 1992 He is backing Jannik Sinner, who won Wimbledon for the first time last year after beating Carlos Alcaraz, who has withdrawn from this year's tournament with a wrist injuryOn his love of The Championships, Mr Taylor said: 'There are loads of tennis tournaments in the world, but Wimbledon is the greatest. If you don't win Wimbledon, then you are nobody.'It is the greatest tournament; you just have to go. Everyone is excited, the players are excited, we in the queue are excited.'It is incredible. The experience is hard to describe but it is one of the few places in the world where you can come and enjoy a tennis match for not too expensive a price, so anyone can come.'For some, queueing has become an annual ritual.Mike Chinner, 59, and his partner Gail Garbett, 60, have attended Wimbledon almost every year for the past four decades, missing only the cancelled 2020 Championships and the restricted tournament in 2021.Nearby, William Whittaker, 18, and his mother Hannah, 52, had already pitched their tent by 8am today despite hoping to attend tomorrow's play instead.They said: 'This is our fourth year in queue, we come done from Hertfordshire. Our plan is to be able to get in for tomorrow to see Serena Williams and Jack Draper. We love it here - there is quite literally no place like Wimbledon tennis.' William Whittaker, 18, and his mother Hannah, 52, pictured had pitched their tent by 8am today despite hoping to attend tomorrow's play insteadA civil servant chose to spend his birthday in the queue and waited two hours for a celebratory pizza.Tom Spencer, from Finsbury Park, north London, turned 26 today and spent the morning with friends wearing party hats.Mr Spencer said: 'I looked up when Wimbledon was on and it happened to coincide with my birthday, so I thought, 'right, that's the perfect excuse'.'I was going to go anyway, but this was a good opportunity to get loads of people there together, and, to some extent, it's free camping in London, essentially.'And the facilities are pretty good – no showers, though.'Mr Spencer said he and his friends had passed the time with 'lots of drinks' and takeaway pizza – an order they waited two hours for.He said: 'I just like going there (Wimbledon) for the coffee and having a beer and watching it.'I think we're slightly short of the big tickets. I saw Emma Raducanu dropped out, that would have been really good.'Student Hannah Turcinova travelled to Wimbledon from Czechia, reaching SW19 at 2pm on Sunday, the earliest fans were asked to arrive.Ms Turcinova, 19, said: 'We came at 2pm, and we thought there would be no-one. That was the original time on the website… and it was written, 'please don't come before this time'.'So next time, we're definitely going to come in the morning.'She said: 'It (camping) was a pleasant experience. People are just coming around you and want to chat. Very lovely.'Nobody's trying to get in front of you, everyone's just at their side.' A Wimbledon queue hopeful draped himself in a blanket among the village of tents in SW19 There are 500 tickets available for those in the queue today to access the show courts - Centre Court, Court One and Court TwoMany had hoped to watch Emma Raducanu before she withdrew from the tournament late on Sunday, leaving some fans devastated.Hannah Blake, 38, who remained in the queue despite the withdrawal, said: 'I am so disappointed she is not playing she was the main reason we were here. She is an excellent player but there does seem to always be something wrong with her. It is such a shame.'But tennis fans weren't the only people lining up outside the famous gates.Dressed as giant tennis balls and carrying oversized placards, campaigners from Save Wimbledon Park joined the queue to continue their protest against the All England Club's proposed expansion.The campaign group opposes plans to build 38 additional tennis courts and a new 8,000-seat stadium on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club site, a development that would allow qualifying matches to be staged at Wimbledon for the first time.Protesters argue the scheme would permanently damage the local environment, result in years of major construction work, remove hundreds of mature trees and build over protected Metropolitan Open Land.Although a lengthy legal challenge suffered a significant setback after the High Court ruled in March that the land was not protected by a public recreation trust, clearing one of the biggest legal hurdles facing the development, campaigners insist the fight is far from over and continued demonstrating alongside the thousands of tennis fans eager to get insideA woman who did not want to be named said she was supposed to be at work on Monday but made a spontaneous decision to join the queue overnight instead, arriving at 3am.She said: 'I'm supposed to be at work today, but my cousin's come in from Vancouver and she's a really big tennis fan.'She's visiting family in London, so I thought, 'let's make this happen for her'.'She added: 'I only have one sleeping bag, and we don't know where it is… so we just got mats and some blankets, and we slept on the ground. It was quite cold actually.'The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts the tournament, said the queue was 'an iconic part of The Championships'.In its 'guide to queueing', the club said the institution 'symbolises a sense of community and camaraderie'.There are 500 Centre Court, Court One and Court Two tickets on sale each day across the tournament for those in the queue, excluding the final four days for the main arena.Those in the queue can also secure a 'grounds pass', which offers general access to all courts and Henman Hill, the grassy mound where lounging fans, often with picnics, can watch show court matches on a large screen.While queueing continues, it will be policed by a 24-hour team of staff and stewards, who woke campers at 6am this morning to pack their tents and form a line. Staff and stewards woke campers at 6am this morning, when they had to pack up their sleeping arrangements and form a line Those lucky enough to secure a Centre Court ticket will see both world No.1s, Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, in action before the return of seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic Djokovic, 39, will play China's Wu Yibing as he aims to win his first Wimbledon title since 2022Beyond the queue, top female seed Aryna Sabalenka's first-round tie against Teodora Kostovic will follow Sinner's game on Centre Court, before Djokovic takes to the SW19 grass again.Sabalenka, a four-time major champion, is among the Wimbledon hopefuls limiting their media appearances to 15 minutes at the tournament to protest the prize money on offer at Grand Slams.Sinner and American Coco Gauff are also part of a group which has called for the major tournaments to give a greater share of their revenue to prize money, alongside a greater contribution to benefits including pensions and maternity leave.Wimbledon increased its overall prize money by 20 per cent this year - the largest annual increase in the tournament's history - to a total prize fund of £64.2million.One player who will not claim any prize money is Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew from The Championships as he continued to suffer from a right wrist injury.Raducanu's withdrawal meant another big name absence and a blow to British representatives in the tournament.Cameron Norrie, seeded 26th, is in action on Court Two this afternoon against Michael Zheng of the US.The British No.1, 30, withdrew from last month's French Open in the first round following an injury and was beaten in two sets by Sinner at an exhibition match last week in west London.Jack Draper was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon today because of the recurrence of an injury in his left serving arm.Draper, whose coach is two-time Wimbledon champion Sir Andy Murray, had been due to face American Taylor Fritz in the first round and said he was 'devastated' to pull out. Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev, who won his first major in Paris, is in action tomorrow, as is 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, who will return to SW19 as a wildcard.