WIMBLEDON, England – It’s known simply as “The Queue,” and for many who wait in it, there’s nearly as much pleasure to be had as on Centre Court itself.

“It’s not just the tennis, it’s the laughs that you get, it’s the atmosphere,” said Sue Callaghan from Tadworth, Surrey, who occupied the first spot in the line outside Gate 5 on Church Road at the All England Club.

Callaghan and her family and friends, five of them in all, arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. She was preparing for her second night inside her tent, decorated like the British flag and stocked with food and drink. Then, early this morning, her reward: the right to purchase tickets for the first day of Wimbledon matches.

But Callaghan will not even step inside today. She wants to see Tim Henman, who plays tomorrow, so she will keep a place on the queue while her companions enjoy a day in the sun. She plans to camp out here for two weeks, buying tickets day by day as she has often done for more than 20 years.

A little farther back, another family had Chinese food delivered to its tent.

“Sweet-and-sour chicken,” Sean Martin, 19, said. He’s been sleeping in line with his family for 11 years. He said one time the rain was so heavy that it collected on a plastic tarp above their tent and pulled down the metal fence blocking them from the road. “It was like we were being attacked,” he said.

Pam Meeks, 72, who lives 60 miles away in North Hampton, said the queue was quite different when she first joined it 25 years ago. This year she and her sister, Mary Whittle, who lives in France, arrived at 9 a.m. on Sunday and seemed in reach of tickets. Back then, 6 a.m. on Monday would suffice.

How unpleasant is it to sleep in a tent on the sidewalk?

“I wouldn’t say it’s comfortable, but it has to be done,” she said.

At least this year will not turn out as it did eight years ago. It began to rain as soon as they purchased their passes. The day was lost, and there was no refund.

“They’re clever enough to get your money first,” she said.