Evian to charge Wimbledon fans £5 for water refills at this year’s tournament with revolutionary QR code scheme

EVIAN will charge Wimbledon fans £5 to drink water - but not all is as it seems.

The All England Club opens its gates to the public for the 2024 Championships from Monday morning.

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And if the heatwave continues into next week, fans will need to keep hydrated.

There are free mains-water fountains around the grounds to top up water bottles.

But spectators will also have the option to pay £5 for a QR code to stick on to their bottles and scan it to refill with mineral water at Evian stations.

The Evian stations were introduced on the courts as well as in the changing rooms and club restaurants in 2023.

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But now they will be dotted around the public areas for fans to make use of after purchasing the QR code - or a £25 stainless steel Evian bottle.

The idea behind the revolutionary scheme is to see whether people prefer to drink essentially tap water or cold H20 from the French Alps.

There is still a large number of people who buy bottled water in bulk at supermarkets - despite the call to stop using single-use plastic.

If the Wimbledon trial succeeds, the plan could be for Danone - who own Evian, Volvic and Harrogate Spring Water - to roll it out across other events and even in shops and pubs.

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Danone marketing director Gemma Morgan told it would be "fascinating to see what the uptake is going to be".

Emma Raducanu is sponsored by Evian - and has backed the campaign.

Wimbledon 2024 prize money

PRIZE MONEY for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is a new record - and puts the grass-court Slam at the top of the tree.

The All England Club will dish out £50million across all the events - an increase of £5.3m and 11.9 per cent on last year, where singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova picked up £2.35m each.

However, the king and queen of grass this July will collect an extra £350,000 - taking the winner's earnings to £2.7m.

Here is the breakdown for the 2024 Wimbledon singles prize money:

• Winner: £2.7m
• Runner-up: £1.4m
• Semi-finalists: £715,000
• Quarter-finalists: £375,000
• Fourth round: £226,000
• Third round: £143,000
• Second round: £93,000
• First round: £60,000
• Overall total: £50m

Laura Robson, meanwhile, wants to see plastic bottles scrapped altogether at Wimbledon - with players, coaches and fans urged to use reusable bottles.

Last year, 10,000 reusable bottles were handed out to competitors - a major drop from the £2.95 750ml 114,000 plastic bottles dished out in 2022.

Robson 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."

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What it's like to be a Wimbledon ball kid

By Alison Maloney

WHILE the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Andy Murray keep us entertained during this summer's Championships, spare a thought for those unsung heroes that keep the tournament going.

Personal trainer Alex Crockford, now 33, served as a ball boy at Wimbledon in 2005 and 2006, and has lifted the lid to SunSport on what it's really like.

“Standing still for hours is one of the toughest parts of being a ball boy,” he says.

“It's quite strict and you don't want to let your team down or feel like you're doing a bad job.

“I remember one really hot day, I clearly hadn't fuelled or hydrated myself appropriately.

"I did have a very faint moment, and started seeing blurry stars.

“There are six BBGs on the court and a captain, which was me, so I was standing to the left of the umpire chair and I was away from my water.

“I had to go outside of my position, get some water and re-balance myself before I could continue."

Click here to read Alex's ball boy story in full.