Each player at the Wimbledon receives £90 a day on food allowances. Their coaches, half of that. There is no particular instruction on how the players and their coaches should use the amount but one was given by the All England Club in light of a bizarre incident that took place during the grass-court grand slam.
Wimbledon had to issue a warning after it was found that a coach had pocketed 27 probiotic yoghurt pockets to utilise his daily food allowance.
An email was sent by the All England Club to all the players reminding them to be more ‘judicious’ when using their allowance, and not to spend their expenses unnecessarily.
Eating sushis with a fork should be forbidden @NickKyrgios
(🎥 @Wimbledon) pic.twitter.com/DVKWla6w2z
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) June 29, 2022
“Each player and coach gets an allocated amount each day so everyone wants to use the full amount to get their money’s worth,” said a source to The Sun.
The players and their coaching staff are able to spend their allowances at six different outlets which include two coffee shops, two sandwich places and two restaurants. Alcohol is completely off the menu for either the coaches or the players.
A source from The All England Tennis Club insisted to The Irish Mirror that the email was not sent to the players to implement any cost-cutting measures, with the UK in the midst of the ongoing cost of living crisis.
It isn’t the first time a Grand Slam tournament has had problems with player food and drink intake. Australian Open had to do away with free food, drink and refreshments throughout the tournament for players and coaches when the organisers saw the facility being exploited.
