Tennis fans travelling to Wimbledon faced severe disruption on Tuesday as fire alerts caused widespread Underground suspensions, including at Southfields station, the nearest stop to the All England Club.
Transport for London reported "no service between Parsons Green and Wimbledon and severe delays between Edgware Road and Parsons Green while we respond to a fire alert at Southfields," according to a TfL statement.
The District Line ground to a halt midway through day two's action at SW19, with additional signal failures at Gunnersbury causing no service between Turnham Green and Richmond.
Earlier fire alerts at South Kensington had already suspended the entire Circle line and caused severe delays across the Hammersmith and City line.
Wimbledon has seen seating temperatures and a mass influx of fans
Reuters
The extreme heat at the Championships reached a staggering 34C on Tuesday, causing health emergencies that interrupted matches.
Play was suspended during the gentlemen's singles match between Lorenzo Musetti and Nikoloz Basilashvili after a spectator fell ill.
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With the Georgian qualifier leading 4-0 in the fourth set, Musetti pointed to the distressed fan, prompting the umpire to immediately phone for medical assistance.
"Medics soon arrived," with grounds staff rushing into the stands with water and umbrellas, halting play for several minutes.
On Monday, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz's five-set victory over Fabio Fognini was delayed by approximately 15 minutes when another fan became sick on Centre Court.
Alcaraz rushed across the court to assist, providing a cold water bottle for the affected spectator.
The transport chaos began early Tuesday morning when a fire alert at South Kensington triggered widespread disruption across three major Underground lines.
"District Line: No service between Embankment and Earls Court while we respond to a fire alert at South Kensington," TfL stated, adding that tickets would be accepted on London Buses, C2C, DLR, Mildmay Line, Elizabeth Line and Southwestern Railway services.
Kate Rice, a Metro journalist caught in the disruption, said: "We were just stopped at Sloane Square with an announcement telling us there was a track fire at South Kensington and basically to fend for ourselves."
Victoria station's westbound platform filled with stranded passengers seeking alternative routes, with footage showing commuters waiting inside stationary trains for updates.
The previous highest temperature for a Wimbledon opening day was 29.3C in 2001, making Monday's conditions potentially record-breaking if temperatures reached the forecast 33C.
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Wimbledon officials issued warnings to fans amid long queues
Reuters
By 7:30am on Monday, Wimbledon officials had already issued warnings that the Queue was at capacity, advising fans not to travel to the grounds.
TfL staff at Earl's Court Station were reportedly telling tennis fans before 9am to stay away from SW19.
"He even laughed while announcing it, saying it was typical British heat," Rice recalled of the train guard's announcement about the track fire, as passengers scrambled for buses with "everyone panicking to get to work."
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