Wimbledon: Our guide to the grounds - which court should you head for after surviving the queue?

The most prestigious tennis tournament in the calendar, Wimbledon, is finally here. Naturally the demand for tickets is through the roof, which means that many fans hoping to see some action on Centre or No 1 Courts may end up disappointed. But ground passes are available to buy every day for those brave enough to queue – and it’s on the outside courts that you see some of the best action.

However, having queued up for hours and finally made it into the grounds, it can be difficult to know which court to head for.

Fortunately, the bookmaker Bwin has broken down exactly the kind of matches tennis fans can expect to see on Wimbledon’s different courts.

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Unsurprisingly, Centre Court is the busiest court during The Championships. In 2016, 42 games were played on the main show court; mostly because all the main draw action from the third round onwards takes place on Centre and No.1 Courts.

However, court No.17 can offer a large amount of tennis action, too. Last year that ended up as the court with the highest average of sets per match: 3.2.

The court also sees the most games per match, at a lofty 32.9.

So, tennis fans hoping to see similar matches to John Isner and Nicolas Mahut’s epic 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–3), 70–68 duel in 2010 would be best making a beeline for Court 17.

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Again, Wimbledon’s Centre Court is the home for all tennis stars during the tournament; with nearly 98% matches including at least one seed in 2016. It also saw the highest record of matches between seeds: 38%.

For ground pass holders wanting to witness some top-rank tennis, court 12 is the most preferable destination. Among matches played there, 80% included at least one seed; whereas 12% of them were between seeds.

This year, fans opting for court No.12 can cheer on the likes of Kei Nishikori or Dominika Cibulkova.

Last year, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic and the current World No.1 – Angelique Kerber all starred.

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Court No.6 is statistically the most common place at Wimbledon for brutal three-set thrashings. Last year, the court featured the highest share of sets won by eventual match-winners, at a whopping 90.2%.

The court also led in ‘highest share of games won in straight sets’ category, with 76.5%.

So the court is a good choice for people waiting for a match starting later during the day, but keen on watching some action beforehand. Or even for those more interested in the champagne tent than the actual tennis.

For those preferring women’s tennis to men’s, court No.8 is the place to be. More than 70% of matches played there is between female players.

In addition, that was the arena of matches with the lowest share of games won in straight sets: something for fans of clashes with momentum switching from one side of the court to another.