5 things to do at Wimbledon while it's raining

29 June 2016 03:53

The sun has not been shining on Wimbledon in 2016, with eight hours of play and counting having already been lost.

Rain is forecast for large parts of the coming days too, leaving players killing time in the dry of the locker room and the fans doing the same on the wet grounds of the All-England Club.

Here, Press Association Sport suggests five things spectators could do to occupy themselves.

1. Queue to buy a second-hand tennis ball

Wimbledon balls are used for no longer than nine games but rather than be thrown away they are resold the next day. Fans can queue outside Centre Court at the 'Used Balls' kiosk and pay £3 for a tin of three balls that could have been used by anyone from Andy Murray to Serena Williams.

The money raised from the sale of the balls is donated by Wimbledon to The School's Tennis Programme, with last year's offering £15,000.

2. Drink Pimm's

Nothing says British summertime more than a glass of Pimm's and nothing says Wimbledon more than a soaked punter making the best of it by sipping the Championships' traditional drink.

Kiosks are selling Pimm's at £8.30 a glass this year and last year 320,000 units were drunk. If the same figure is reached this year, then the total will be just shy of £2.6million - comfortably more than the winners on court will receive.

3. Buy a towel

The Wimbledon towel has become a talking point at this year's Championships, with each player being asked for their thoughts on the item by a particular member of the media. There are two towels available, one for the men and one for the women, and the fans can get a piece of the action too, for they are available in the Wimbledon store for £29.

Not only can the money buy you a terrific keepsake, it can also help you dry out which is much needed this week.

4. Eat strawberries and cream

This dish goes hand in hand with the Pimm's - the unofficial snack of the British summertime. Approximately 8,615 punnets are served each day at a price of £2.50 each. That means a spend of £280,000 on the fruit over the two weeks.

Around 28,000kg of strawberries are consumed during the fortnight - 233 Marcus Willis' at his heaviest weight.

5. Take in some history

If fans have not grown tired of spending money, they can hand over some more cash for a trip around the Wimbledon Museum. Open to ticket holders only, it is priced at £13 for adults, £11 for concessions and £8 for children.

From Victorian tennis aprons to crisp Wimbledon whites, the museum offers a chance to get acquainted with tennis fashion throughout the ages. And oh, it also houses the original white dress worn by the famous 1970s Tennis Girl Fiona Butler which stands next to a copy of the sport's most famous poster.

Source: PA