The All England Club admitted last night that they did not have any insurance against rain for this summer’s Championships, and that their decision to do without a wet-weather policy could cost them millions of pounds. Every day that is washed out or badly affected by rain means that they have to potentially pay out more than £1 million in ticket refunds.

A spokesman for the All England Club said on Sunday that they opted not to insure themselves against bad weather as they saw the premiums as prohibitively high and so instead “took the risk” of not having cover. But the risk of not having rain insurance has already cost them around £1 million after the poor weather on Saturday, and further rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

The All England Club also disclosed that they had not had rain insurance for several years. More bad weather this week would mean that the tournament would produce a smaller surplus, reducing the money which the Lawn Tennis Association would have to spend on the development of the sport. The LTA said they had insurance against poor weather at their pre-Wimbledon tournaments in Birmingham, Eastbourne and Nottingham.

The rules at the All England Club state that ticket holders are given a full refund if they see less than an hour’s play. On Saturday, Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, the women’s defending champion, required 57 minutes for her third-round defeat of Italian Mara Santangelo, and there was no more play on Centre Court because of the rain, so all ticket holders for that stadium will be given a full refund.