Wimbledon spectators were placed in a difficult position when several water refill points were closed during a severe heatwave, a Sun report said.
Things became embarrassing for tournament sponsor Evian, which was forced to suspend sales of new environmentally friendly bottles, originally designed for customers to top up throughout the day.
This summer’s tournament, widely considered perhaps the hottest in the 147-year history of Wimbledon, even halted play.
The semifinal match between Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz was delayed twice after two fans reportedly became ill due to the sweltering heat. Local temperatures rose as high as 31°C.
What did the Company Comment?
An Evian representative described the pressure on their services, saying to the Sun, “The unusually hot weather, coupled with the popularity of the Evian refill system among players and spectators alike, has meant demand has been much higher than we’ve ever experienced before… Consequently, we’ve had to cease providing Evian refill earlier than anticipated.”
They attributed the high demand for extreme temperatures. While the green dispensers were switched off, Evian red-top bottles kept selling at the shops within the venue. Over 100 free tap water refill stations also remained open.
Requests to Shut Down the Retractable Roof:
Polish finalist Iga Swiatek asked why the stadium refused to open its £70 million retractable roof on such a hot day. “From what I saw and heard on various tournaments, they’re generally not going to close the roof when it’s not raining, when it’s not a requirement. I don’t know why,” she said to the Sun. Significantly, the roof has never been shut since its opening in 2009 because of extreme heat, and closing it takes about 10 minutes.
US player Anisimova explained her on-court battle, stating, “I felt like I was getting tired throughout some points of the match,” and Belarusian superstar Sabalenka put it candidly: “London is not ready for this weather.”
There are many other dialogues involving them as well.
