Has Wimbledon gone vulgar? The opposing positions are stark. Depending on who you listen to, the most famous tennis tournament in the world has either entered a golden age or has hit an unimagined nadir of naffness. Let’s work it out point by point.
Last year’s tournament had the distinction of offering the record-breaking, and eye-watering, prize money of £3 million each for the winners; it was also the first time the trophies were handed to men’s (Jannik Sinner) and women’s (Iga Świątek) champions who had both served suspensions for banned substances.
“For me the rot set in when Ralph Lauren started sponsoring it,” says an erstwhile member of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club board. As sponsorships go there is nothing subtle about Ralph Lauren’s presence at the tournament.
A spectator wears a Wimbledon Polo Ralph Lauren jacket at Wimbledon 2024 (Getty)
The deal, which was renewed on June 15, sees Ralph Lauren enter its third decade as the Official Partner and Official Outfitter of the championship. Purists were dramatically shaken in 2006, when the American brand radically sexed up the staid Wimbledon look. Everything from the British-made green polyester blazers of the umpires to the caps of the ball boys and girls were given a seismic makeover.
“I mean it is just ghastly — most of these celebrities think top spin is a setting for the tumble dryer”
An unnamed Wimbledon grandee
These days, rather than blend into the court, the tailored navy blazers with white piping, paired with impeccable blue-and-white-striped shirts, white collars and cream-coloured trousers or skirts, are expressly designed to make the umpires and officials pop. While for the ball boys and girls, their bespoke navy outfits are one of the great perks of the job.
Though the curmudgeonly griped at the time, it is generally agreed that it was done well; and with all things like this we can’t remember how it looked before. What is much less popular with the grand Wimbledon faithful is the wholesale corporate assault.
For a competition that spent the first 129 years of its life studiously uncommercial, it is jarring that you can’t now swing a racket without hitting some form of Ralph Lauren branding or merch.
An invasion of unseeded celebs
This is whacked into especially glaring relief when it comes to the celebrities who flock to SW19. A Wimbledon grandee, who won’t be named for fear of having her comped tickets withdrawn, says, “I mean it is just ghastly. They come and pose in front of those awful Ralph Lauren sign things. That is their sole reason for being there. Most of them think top spin is a setting for the tumble dryer.”
David Beckham poses for a selfie with a fan from the Royal Box (Getty)
It is true that Wimbledon is now a mecca for celebrities. Of the big hitters, last year saw the likes of David Beckham, Lily Collins and Olivia Rodrigo strike their pose in front of the Ralph Lauren backdrops, and word is this year is set to be the starriest yet. It goes without saying that the inevitable royals and tennis mad Middletons (who very definitely know what top spin is) will be out in force. But it’s the C-list, unseeded celebrities who really have the power to drive the tournament fanatics over the edge.
“When I was there last year, there were lots of really shocking looking people in spiky heels that kept getting stuck in the grass,” says a young Wimbledon devotee. “But we thought they looked a bit familiar. Sort of famous. It turned out that Evian had literally shelled out tickets on the proviso that these people tagged themselves in the Evian tent. I swear that none of them ever left it. It did chafe a bit, as my equally tennis-obsessed boyfriend’s parents had — after years and years of trying — won tickets from the public ballot and couldn’t go so they gave them to us. We obviously can’t afford to go this year.”
Don’t stop the tantrums
There is some truth to this. Word is that last year some aspiring starlets missed match after match as they instead posed merrily in the gaudy pink splendour of the Evian Mountain of Youth suite.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meet ballboys and ballgirls, who have new rules this year (PA)
But the worst and most insidious criticism levelled at the tournament is that it has become bland. “I hate that so many of the quirks have gone out of the game,” says one of the Wimbledon top brass. There was great outrage when it was announced a year or so ago that beloved line umpire Charlie Falconer was fired just before his 50th year of service to be replaced with the electronic line calling system, Hawk-Eye.
Draconian rules about swearing and tantrums could be set to ruin the fun, too. Last year, 12 players were fined £36,800, well over double the amount of the year before, for unsportsmanlike behaviour (the charming sounding offence of racket abuse being the newest bugbear). And there won’t even be the light relief of fainting ball boys and girls, as they are now required to follow the one hour on the court, one hour off policy.
The vulgarity of the tournament might not be a black or white matter (it is a great source of comfort to Wimbledon die-hards that — apart from the odd row about coloured knickers — the white on court rule remains implacable) but more patchy than that. What is not moot though is the joy it will bring. The Saudis might be building an uber-Wimbledon in the desert but my advice would be to stick to SW19. Watch on the box or in person, it is pretty hard to knock it.
Alice Cockerell is a freelance writer