It's that time of year again, with football still dominating headlines, Formula 1 has just left Austria and is heading to Silverstone, and if neither of those sports really does anything for you, today probably feels like the real start of the British sporting summer because Wimbledon fortnight has arrived!
There is something about Wimbledon that feels completely different to every other sporting event. It isn't just the tennis. It's the grass courts, the queue stretching through Wimbledon Park, the sound of the umpire calling "Quiet please", the strawberries and cream, and the strange way that half the country suddenly becomes an expert on topspin backhands despite not having picked up a racket since school.
For two weeks, tennis becomes unavoidable and even people who don't normally follow the sport find themselves checking the scores over lunch or leaving Centre Court on in the background while working from home.
This year, though, the tournament already feels a little different before a ball has even been hit, and not just because Serena is back!
A Tournament Already Missing Some Big Names
If you've looked at the draw over the last few days, you'll probably have noticed something missing, quite a few of the biggest names.
British hopes have taken a significant hit after both Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper were forced to withdraw at the last minute through injury. Raducanu's long-standing foot problem developed into a stress fracture, ruling her out on the eve of the tournament, while Draper suffered a recurrence of the arm injury that has disrupted much of his last twelve months so for British tennis fans, it's difficult not to feel disappointed.
Wimbledon always carries a different atmosphere when there are home players capable of making a genuine run through the draw, and both Raducanu and Draper looked like they had the potential to make the second week. Instead, the attention now shifts to the remaining British players and whether someone unexpected can produce one of those classic Wimbledon stories that seems to happen every few years.
The injuries don't stop there either as Carlos Alcaraz, currently the world number two and one of the biggest attractions in world tennis, was already ruled out with the wrist injury that has kept him away throughout the grass-court season.
On the women's side, ninth seed Victoria Mboko is also absent after suffering a knee injury earlier in the grass-court season.
It isn't often that Wimbledon loses so many headline names before the opening day, but that's exactly where we find ourselves this year.
Which Also Makes Things More Interesting...
Of course, every withdrawal creates an opportunity for somebody else.
Jannik Sinner now arrives as the clear favourite in the men's draw, with many commentators believing this is his tournament to lose. Without Alcaraz in the field, one of his biggest rivals has already been removed before play even begins, although Wimbledon has a habit of producing surprises when everyone thinks they know how the fortnight is going to unfold.
The women's tournament arguably feels even more open.
There are several genuine contenders capable of lifting the trophy, and it would surprise nobody if the champion emerged from outside the very top favourites. Grass has always been the surface most likely to produce unexpected runs, which is one of the reasons Wimbledon remains so compelling every summer.
Which Got Us Thinking...
Whenever there's a major sporting event, we usually end up doing something around it.
The World Cup has the Guess the Results competition, Formula 1 has the Nicotine Pouch Championship, Le Mans gave us another reason to talk about caffeine pouches.
So naturally we started wondering whether Wimbledon deserved something as well. and the obvious answer seemed to be flavours as if any sporting event has its own flavour profile, it's Wimbledon.
Strawberries.
Summer fruit.
Cucumber.
Lemonade.
Tea.
You can almost picture the picnic before you've even reached the gates.
A Wimbledon Collection?
Once we'd started talking about it, we realised we actually stock quite a few products that would fit the theme surprisingly well.
On the strawberry side alone you've got products like HELWIT Strawberry, FUMI Strawberry Mini, DENSSI Strawberry Freeze, KILLA Strawberry Cheesecake, KILLA Strawberry Lychee, LOOP Strawberry Ice, KLINT Strawberry Mini, NICLEAF Strawberry, PABLO Exclusive Strawberry Cheesecake, PABLO Exclusive Strawberry Kiwi, PABLO Exclusive Strawberry Lychee, PABLO Gold Edition Strawberry Kiwi, SNU Strawberry Kiwi, XQS Strawberry Kiwi, ELUX Strawberry, FIX Strawberry Kiwi and even the rather eye-catching CUBA Strawberry in 30mg.
For something a little different there's KELLY WHITE Cucumber Mint, which probably comes closer than anything else to capturing an English summer garden.
Then there are the tea-inspired flavours including 77 Black Tea, 77 Green Tea, NOTO Green Tea, AVANT Cool Ice Tea Strong and APRÈS Ice Tea Peach.
Finally, for anyone thinking less strawberries and cream and more sitting outside watching tennis with something cold, products like PABLO Exclusive Pink Lemonade and GREATEST Rage Lemonade seem to fit the occasion rather well.
Looking at that list, we started wondering whether there might actually be enough there for a proper Wimbledon promotion.
But Is It Just Us?
That's where we'd like your help because we're still very much at the "would people actually like this?" stage.
Would a Wimbledon-inspired collection be something you'd enjoy seeing? Should we pick out a selection of summer-inspired flavours and run them as a themed promotion during the Championships and would you like us to lean into the strawberries and summer fruit, or would you rather see something a bit broader that captures the whole atmosphere of Wimbledon?
Or do you think we're completely overthinking it and should just leave the tennis to the tennis players? We genuinely don't know.
Sometimes the best ideas come from conversations with customers rather than meetings in the office, so let us know, drop us a comment on social media, send us a message or reply to this blog if you've got an opinion. If enough people like the idea, perhaps we'll see if we can put together a Wimbledon collection before the finals weekend arrives.
Until then, enjoy the tennis.
Whether you're following every match from Centre Court or simply waiting for somebody to shout "Come on Tim" despite him having retired 19 years ago, Wimbledon always has a way of becoming part of the British summer.
We're looking forward to seeing how this year's tournament unfolds.
