Wimbledon players have been warned ahead of the sport's most unique Grand Slam tournament this summer - and it has nothing to do with on court behaviour.
To say last year's Championships proved divisive would be a ludicrous understatement, amid the ban on Russian and Belarusian players over their country's invasion of Ukraine. The directive saw the event stripped of ranking points, with organisers having softened their stance this time around.
But it wasn't the only issue that the All England Tennis Club had to confront in 2022. Those who were permitted to play were subjected to a clamp down on their food and drink spending, after one greedy coach took things a little too far.
The mentor was spotted spotted creeping away from the catering area with 27 yoghurts in his possession. In recent years, the playing quota have been given a £90 allowance to spend on refreshments whilst competing at the tournament - with coaches handed half that amount.
According to i news , tournament officials last year had to send an e-mail to all entrants about their spending at the restaurants and cafes around SW19. They were urged to be sensible and show constraint, a notion that did not include taking 27 yoghurts for personal consumption.
Beneficiaries of the tariff were reminded that they didn't have to spend it all in full, and were asked to be more 'judicious' when using their allowance. Despite the concerns however, Wimbledon bosses opted not to lessen the allocated amounts.
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The system was created to help players, and stop them having to plan what nutritional snacks to take into the grounds with them. Players are regularly seen eating bananas during games at SW19, while many also consume energy drinks.
Last year, a source from The All England Tennis Club insisted that the e-mail was not sent across to players in order to lower the costs of running the tournament. Indeed, Wimbledon was one of the few sporting events not to take a huge hit in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The tournament had insurance against any potential pandemic. Subsequently, organisers received a pay out of around £114 million for having to cancel the 2020 version.
