Stars return to Royal Box as Wimbledon welcomes back the sunshine

Celebrities were back in the Royal Box on Thursday as Wimbledon bounced back from a rainy midweek spell with sunshine and a packed schedule on day four.

Blue skies and 24C temperatures returned to the All England Club after a soggy Wednesday, with fans quick to swap ponchos for sunhats and take advantage of ideal conditions on court.

Among the guests in the Royal Box were adventurer Bear Grylls, broadcaster Sir Chris Bryant and actor Rory Kinnear.

Former Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden and comedian Clive Anderson were also spotted taking in the action on Centre Court.

Musician-turned-environmentalist Feargal Sharkey was seated alongside Dutch tennis legend Betty Stove, who turned 80 in April and famously reached three Wimbledon finals in 1977.

They were joined by a host of sporting figures including former England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward, Olympic sprinter Donna Fraser, and incoming Lawn Tennis Association chairman William Jackson. Prince Michael of Kent led the royal contingent.

The stars were there to see Novak Djokovic face off against British Dan Evans on Centre Court, before Iga Swiatek takes on American qualifier Caty McNally.

Top seed Jannik Sinner took on Aleksandar Vukic of Australia on No 1 Court, followed by Mirra Andreeva’s match against Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti.

Later in the day, Maria Sakkari is scheduled to play 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, and British hope Jack Draper will face former US Open winner Marin Cilic.