Would YOU spend £5 on water at Wimbledon?

Tennis fans are facing the prospect of spending £5 on water whilst watching their favourite stars in action at Wimbledon this year.

For this summer’s tournament at SW19 – which begins on July 1 – Evian is offering a scheme which sees punters pay £5 for a QR code which they can stick to their reusable bottles and use at water refill stations.

Danone – which owns Evian, Volvic and Harrogate Spring Water – say they want to assess whether there is a demand for refills of cold water from the French Alps, rather than the club’s mains-water fountains.

It has become the first company to offer such a scheme and if successful it could be introduced to other large events, as well as coffee shops, pubs and even supermarkets.

The move comes as large numbers of people continue to avoid drinking tap water and bulk-buy bottles at supermarkets, despite growing criticism of single-use plastics.

Gemma Morgan, a Danone marketing director, claimed it was going to be ‘fascinating to see what the uptake is going to be’.

She told The Times: ‘At the moment, if you want to drink mineral water you need to have it in a plastic bottle. If you do refill it tends to be tap water, it might be filtered, but it is tap water.’

As well as the £5 QR codes, which enables them to refill their bottle with Evian throughout the day, spectators can also purchase Wimbledon-themed stainless steel Evian bottles for £25 – including refills.

Evian’s regular 750ml plastic bottle of water will cost £2.95 at the west London tennis championships this year.

Players were the first to take advantage of the refill system last year when it was introduced on court, in changing rooms and in the club’s numerous restaurants.

The idea has already received support from those within the game. British tennis star Emma Raducanu has offered her endorsement, while former junior Wimbledon champion Laura Robson questioned the use of plastic bottles of water at the championship two years ago.

She said: ‘There are all the players on the practice courts just taking a couple of sips from a water bottle and then leaving it there. Should there be a fine, maybe? We’re joking about it, but maybe that’s something that needs to happen.’

Harriet Lamb of Wrap, a sustainability charity, said plastic waste and litter from food and drink packaging was ‘too high’ and ‘needs to be tackled’ in order to protect the environment. 

In 2022, Wimbledon competitors were supplied with 114,000 750ml plastic water bottles, which were replaced by 10,000 reusable bottles last year.

Organisers have not disclosed how many plastic water bottles it sells to spectators.

In regards to the environmental impact of the refill scheme, Evian said there would be no immediate carbon savings, because of the emissions associated with implementing the new delivery system, but transporting recycled plastic bottles from France is relatively low in emissions.

Those attending the championships who are looking for a stronger tipple may face issues on that front, as organisers look to clampdown on booze this summer following years of worsening behaviour from rowdy fans.

Earlier this month, crowds at the French Open were banned from drinking alcohol on court in a bid to crack down on increasingly raucous behaviour.

The move, which makes it the only one of the four Grand Slams to not allow alcohol in the stands, has sparked fears that Wimbledon bosses could do the same.

The French Open ban came after Belgian tennis player David Goffin claimed a spectator spat his chewing gum at him during his win against French player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. 

Goffin claimed the atmosphere at the French Open was becoming ‘ridiculous’, suggesting some fans were there to cause trouble.

World No1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek also felt crowd behaviour went too far during her pulsating win over Naomi Osaka on Wednesday, May 29.

The Pole pleaded with the crowd after her match: ‘I am sorry to bring this up, I know we are playing for you.

‘This is entertainment and we are earning money because of you. But sometimes under a lot of pressure when you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really, really hard to be focused.’

The next day, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said that Roland Garros had decided to ban fans from bringing alcohol on to the court, as one of a number of measures to curb the bad behaviour.

Despite similar cases of rowdy fans berating players at Wimbledon, it is understood the organisers are not considering bringing in such a ban, with the London-based tournament set to start on Monday, July 1.

Wimbledon hasn’t been averse to avoiding more rowdy spectators over the years with Nick Kyrgios’s infamous rant towards a supposed ‘drunk’ individual being a highlight of the 2022 men’s final.

During his tense battle with Djokovic in a clash he ultimately lost in four sets, Kyrgios accused a drunk fan of interrupting him during a crucial service game.

‘She’s distracting me when I’m serving in a Wimbledon final,’ he fumed at umpire Renauld Lichtenstein.

‘There’s no other bigger occasion, you didn’t believe me and then she did it again. It nearly cost me the game.

‘Why is she still here? She’s drunk out of her mind and speaking to me in the middle of a game. What’s acceptable?’

When Lichtenstein said ‘nothing is acceptable’, Kyrgios replied, ‘OK, kick her out. I know exactly which one it is – the one who looks like she has had 700 drinks, bro.’

Last year, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka was booed off by the crowd after losing to Elina Svitolina and failed to approach her for a handshake, despite the Ukrainian having made clear that she would not be shaking her hand anyway.

Azarenka later hit out at those in the stands on Court One, while Svitolina called for action by tennis authorities to deal with the increasingly ugly scenarios that are following games.

She said: ‘What should I have done? Stayed and waited? She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people. I respected her decision.’