Most of you, whether sports fans or not, will probably have
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​heard ​about some of the ​traditions ​surrounding the world's
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​oldest  ​and most ​prestigious tennis ​competition.
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​It has been played on grass at the All  ​England Club in ​
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​Wimbledon ​since 1877 ​(the second of the two weeks of the
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​ 2017 tournament​ is just starting).
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​The players dress in white only (the rules governing the
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​size and positioning of logos on the clothing are strict),
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the traditional snack consumed by the public is strawberries
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​and cream, and celebrities from all walks of the arts and
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​entertainment attend the matches. On the day of the finals
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​you will see members of the Royal Family taking their place
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​ at the Center Court, and the players bow  to  the Royal Box
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​as they enter and leave the center court.
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​So much for the tradition. Now let's get down to business.
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Unlike almost any other sporting event, you see no
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​sponsorship advertisements around the courts with two
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​exceptions : because of the high class prestige associated
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​with the tournament, the official timekeeper of the
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​tournament is Rolex, and their logo can be seen on every
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​ scoreboard.
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The only other official partnership is with the supplier of
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​sports equipment​ Slazenger, whose balls are used
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​​throughout the tournament (over 54,000 of them, actually).
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They are used for nine games (not nine matches), then
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​changed, stored and ​sold to ​the public after the competition
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​as "slightly used".
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Other businesses​ use the Wimbledon brand to promote
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​their own products and services. Below is the link  to a
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​commercial ​for the UK's Tesco supermarket chain starring
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​two of ​Wimbledon's greatest rivals – Bjorn Borg (on the left),
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​five times ​Wimbledon champion from 1976-1980, and
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​John ​McEnroe, ​who won the title in 1981, 1983 and 1984 :​
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​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wDzPvNzbzE

​​(Click the link or copy/paste to your browser to see the commercial).
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​Oh, and before you ask, the prize money this year totals
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​no ​less than US$17.7 million.
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​Time to start looking for that old tennis racket !