Wimbledon has always been characterized by its immobility and by going on its own when making decisions, no matter how controversial these may be. Already in his day he provoked a rebellion among the tennis players, led by the Spanish, when he refused to respect the rankings to place the seeds he wanted and in the order he believed convenient.
That led to the expansion of the seedings from 16 to 32and they forced him to order them, but without including tennis players who were not among those first 32, something they did do then.
It has differences with respect to the rest of the Grand Slam tournaments in ticket sales, it maintains its ‘obligation’ to wear white and other traditional rules that they refuse to remove.
Just a few days ago they caused a new controversy when they confirmed that, despite the problems that have arisen in recent years with the schedules, the start of the schedules was not going to be altered and The matches would continue to begin at 1:30 p.m. on the Central court and at 1:00 p.m. on court 1, both with the roof of the venue.
And now they have made a new decision that has created a debate and that affects the fans who will attend The All England Lawn Tennis Club since this week, when the qualifying phase of the third Grand Slam tournament of 2024 has started.
The new Wimbledon advertisement, linked to sustainability
Wimbledon will take a new measure to, supposedly and as announced, promote sustainability among its attendees: charge 5 pounds to people who want to refill their water bottles.
To do this, it has reached an agreement with Evian, one of its sponsors, with which it has put into operation a charging system that uses QR codes. Fans can purchase these codes and put them on their reusable bottles; and, with them, refill the bottles in the different water tanks in the London club.
The alternative for those who do not bring their bottle and buy the code will be the option to buy tournament-themed stainless steel bottles for £25. The QR code would already be included in them. And then there would be the ‘traditional’ formulas of buying 750 ml bottles at a price of £2.95, which is what they want to avoid, or refilling with tap water.
The measure has already sparked debate on the networks between those who applaud this formula and those who see it as another way for Wimbledon to raise money. How it turns out, it would be implemented in other tournaments in which the same brand is in charge of managing water refilling.
