Wimbledon opened its 2025 Championships on Monday in the hottest conditions ever recorded for the tournament’s first day. The Met Office said temperatures reached a provisional 31.4°C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens, topping the previous opening-day record of 29.3°C set in 2001 and edging close to the all-time Wimbledon mark of 35.7°C logged in 2015. The searing heat drew around 10,000 people to the famous ‘Queue’ before gates opened, prompting the All England Lawn Tennis Club to warn latecomers not to travel because tickets were unlikely. With grounds capacity capped at 42,000, organisers deployed more than 100 water stations, enlarged medical teams and cooling scarves for ball kids. Players received ice towels and cold drinks, and the rarely used Extreme Heat Rule—which allows a 10-minute break once the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature reaches 30.1°C—was placed on standby throughout the afternoon. The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office kept an amber heat-health alert in force for large parts of England until Tuesday evening, with London forecast to hover between 33°C and 35°C for a second day. The scorching start to the fortnight comes amid a broader European heatwave that has pushed thermometers above seasonal norms from Spain to Scandinavia.