Home Win: Top Tips For Wimbledon Tennis Party Decor

Wimbledon tennis fever has officially hit! With the games now in full swing, our little town is buzzing with excitement for the event season of the year. Interior designer Gemma Fordham share her top tennis-party decor tips…

My daily walk up to the common took a little longer today… there was no way I was going to zoom by, head down, and not appreciate the incredible buzz, and those incredible tennis-themed windows! Each one is different – you have to hand it to the ‘minds behind the designs’ for coming up with such fantastic displays. Beautiful, quirky, original… they have it all. And I think the displays are getting better and better every year!

Of course, with summer in Wimbledon come the parties. I love any excuse to entertain – in fact I love any excuse to decorate – which brings me neatly on to this week’s topic: how to get ready for your tennis party!

Credit: Helene Arentz

Tennis-themed Table Settings

If you’re hosting a simple lunch, supper or dinner, the table settings will naturally be your focal point – vintage tennis gear is your go-to here. Try filling a decorative vase with tennis balls, sourcing some secondhand wooden racquets, and channelling the iconic Wimbledon colourway: whites, purple and dark green with a touch of lemon yellow.

Of course, for bigger parties, you simply cannot go wrong with colourful bunting and balloons to create that happy-party festival vibe. Head to Partica in Centre Court – your one-stop shop for entertaining decor – where they have a fab selection of party-perfect trimmings. But if you want to go a little further with your theme, here are a few more ideas I spied for inspiration!

Flower Power

Let’s face it, The Ivy Café in Wimbledon sets the bar high with their eye-catching floral arches every year – and this year is no exception (make sure you pop by to see them). Flowers make such a statement so why not take a leaf from their book and decorate the front of your home with a flower arch, botanical garland or some plant pots in the distinctive tennis colours? Think purple, green, white, yellow… What a combo and how gorgeous do they look!

If you’re struggling to put something together yourself, Flowers by Brian Kirkby can give you a hand.

Credit: Helene Arentz

Make A Racquet (Into Something Else…)

You can continue the theme indoors, too. Check out these ideas spotted in SW19 as a way to incorporate tennis theme! I love this sculptural installation of repurposed, painted tennis racquets – pretty, effective and unique. Tester pots or paint samples are your friend here…

Turn Tennis Balls Into Centrepieces

Our favourite local florist has also incorporated racquets and tennis balls – plus some turf as a reminder of Wimbledon’s hallowed lawns – into simple potted planting schemes. The sliced-up tennis-ball cactus pots are particularly fun!

Present Your Pimm’s Prettily

And finally, it wouldn’t be a tennis party without plenty of Pimm’s! There is nothing better than that summer taste… yummy! But if, like me, you would rather be outside enjoying the party than stuck in the kitchen mixing drinks, why not set up a glass Kilner-style jar dispenser with a tap, so that your guests can help themselves? I’ve spotted some similar tapped decanters to those pictured below at Robert Dyas, Dunelm and Wilko. Pop it on a square of astroturf, a wooden chopping board or a colourful tea towel, surround with flower heads or tennis balls, stack up glasses and colour-themed paper straws, and you’re good to go.

Tastes good, looks good, feels great. Win win!