Wimbledon's 10 stalkers

Wimbledon today issued an unprecedented 10 banning orders to protect its stars from stalkers.

The All England Club made the move in an attempt to stop the tournament being disrupted.

Letters have been sent to the 10 "undesirables" banning them from the tournament.

They include a man from Hove who lunged at champion Maria Sharapova during a competition in Los Angeles.

The letters state that the All England Club is a private area and that any attempt to enter without permission will lead to the police being asked to make an arrest.

Pictures of the 10 individuals have been circulated to security guards around the All England Club.

One Wimbledon official said this afternoon: "All these 10 people have proved in the past that they are capable of causing disruption or even security fears at major events.

"We have taken the precaution of writing to them and warning them that the All England Club is a private place and if they enter, they will be trespassing and arrested.

"We just want the tournament to be safe and secure, not just for the spectators, but also for the players."

Also on the banned list are defrocked Irish priest Cornelius Horan, 58, who disrupted the Olympic Marathon; serial prankster Karl Power, who gatecrashed security to pose with Manchester United soccer stars; and Mark Roberts, who streaked across Centre Court in 2002.

The All England Club is taking the threat of stalkers extremely seriously after other female tennis stars have also suffered in recent years.

Former world No1 Monica Seles was stabbed during a tournament in Hamburg in 1993 and Steffi Graf was once taunted by a stalker on Centre Court at Wimbledon. Serena Williams was at the centre of a stalking scare at the Paris Indoor Open in February when a fan bluffed his way into her news conference. Police questioned him after he was also reported to have reached the players' locker room. Security has been stepped up around Sharapova in particular. The Russian said this week: "I'm not entirely comfortable being surrounded by security people. But I have to accept it comes with the territory."

There is an increased police presence at Wimbledon this week following 85 arrests at last year's event. One woman was arrested this morning for trying to bring in a CS gas canister. She was cautioned before being released.

Plainclothes officers have been mingling with touts and those seen trading on the streets will be reported and summonsed to appear before courts. There has been no specific terrorist threat to Wimbledon but world events, such as the Iraq war and the forthcoming G8 protests, mean security has been stepped up.

Meanwhile, the tournament opened today with the traditional queues for tickets. Jeremy Evershed, from Clapham, who waited in line overnight with his wife, Beth, said: "It's a great atmosphere here so we don't mind missing out on a sunny day. We had a nice picnic and it was very relaxing. It will be worth it to get Centre Court tickets for the first day. We didn't get much sleep last night but it doesn't matter - we are really looking forward to the tennis."