Wimbledon mishap days before Grand Slam as water for players and fans 'undrinkable'

The water at Wimbledon has been branded 'undrinkable' after fans were left frustrated by the venue's refill system. Qualifying in Roehampton is well underway ahead of the main draw starting next week but it seems there have been some early teething problems.

Wimbledon always provides free drinking water to spectators at refill stations but the quality of the water has sometimes come under fire. A number of people on social media claimed the system broke down on Tuesday with members of staff being forced to hand out free bottles of Evian instead.

@stevenmtennis wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Wimbledon’s sustainability plan is off to a good start. The water from the refill taps 'isn’t drinkable' so they are handing out bottles of Evian instead."

@devorahfurman added: "System went downhill fast. It was closed to the public and they started handing out Evian water bottles to everyone. They said they were going to fix the problem for Wednesday. No water in the ladies loo hand basins for about two hours. Charming."

A spokesperson for the All England Club told Express Sport: "There was a temporary interruption to the free public water refill points at our qualifying event in Roehampton. All guests had access to free bottled water during this time and the public water refill points are now back in service."

It comes after Wimbledon introduced a new scheme in conjunction with Evian to provide refills of cold water from the French Alps rather than mains water fountains. Fans can pay £5 for a QR code, which they can stick to their reusable bottles and use at water refill stations.

Evian is the first water company to offer such a scheme, which could be introduced to other large events if it is deemed a success.

Gemma Morgan, a marketing director of Evian's parent company Danone, said: "We know that refill plays, and will continue to play, a major role in the way people consume water here in the UK. The response to the player refill system last year was incredibly positive, so we want to expand refill to spectators to explore the potential at a larger scale."

Players were the first to take advantage of the refill system last year when it was introduced in changing rooms and restaurants. They were supplied with 10,000 reusable bottles, in contrast with the 114,000 single-use plastic bottles that were supplied in 2022.

The move has received support from those within the game, with Emma Raducanu among those to have endorsed it. The use of plastic bottles at Wimbledon was previously questioned by Laura Robson, who called for players to be fined if they were deemed to be wasting water.

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."