How Saudi Arabia lures tennis into the desert

The money trail leads to Center Court. They’re usually pretty stingy at Wimbledon when it comes to sponsorship presence on their sanctuary. Even the size of the outfitter logos on the players’ pure white tennis gear is strictly regulated. But the logo of Barclays Bank is emblazoned on the referee’s chair and is therefore in the picture at every rally. This is part of a deal that has recently brought the organizer of the oldest and most important tennis tournament in the world around 23 million euros a year.

Thursday, July 6, media theater. That’s what the large press room of the All England Lawn Tennis Club has been called since this year, a bit unintentionally funny for Germans. At the beginning of the week, Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev said wistfully that Wimbledon is also a magical place because every single flower is in exactly the right place. And so, of course, where England’s former football hero Gary Lineker is now moderating a panel discussion on the subject of sustainability, the petunias are also blooming – albeit in this case only virtually on the huge screen in the background.