Tennis and luxury is the name of the game: THE GLOSS gets a behind-the-scenes look at Wimbledon with Range Rover …
When hot Italian player Jannik Sinner swapped his athletic bag for a large logo-covered duffel by Gucci at Wimbledon in 2023, the New York Times proclaimed it marked a new frontier for luxury brands in tennis. And this year, as Range Rover announced its official partnership with the Championships, the event has upped its ultra premium experience a notch.
The 2024 tournament is set to be the classiest (in spite of the unpredictable weather) in its near-150 year history, with a whole new generation hooked on the historic event and the opportunity it brings to appreciate Doing Things Properly.
Most evocative sporting arena at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
The addition of a new layer of luxury to the oldest tennis tournament in the world is the icing on the cake for those who love the quintessentially British sporting highlight of the summer. Viewed by millions globally, the prestigious Grand Slam tournament is supported for the first time with Range Rover as the Official Vehicle Partner for 2024, chauffeuring top players and their teams and celebrities to and from the grounds in SW19. The partnership brings together for the first time the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and the world’s foremost luxury SUV brand.
Tim Henman, former British No 1, in the Range Rover Suite.
Quiet please: plug-in electric hybrid Range Rovers deliver hushed player transport.
And, in the sustainable spirit of the event, the plug-in electric hybrid Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles are charged at The All England Lawn Tennis Club using 100 per cent renewable electricity for near-silent running throughout The Championships.
Wimbledon’s tasteful British Racing Green colour scheme, the perfect timekeeping and precise organisation, the beautifully tended gardens and flowers, the players’ whites, the Royal Box, afternoon tea, Pimms and strawberries and the adherence to court etiquette sets the scene. Understated and timeless yet always moving with the times, Wimbledon is blissfully devoid of logos and marketing with the exceptions of the Rolex scoreboards (since 1978) and the Slazenger tennis balls (since 1902).
Posh strawbs… with a Pimms perhaps.
As THE GLOSS gets to experience the exclusive version of a day watching tennis in the Range Rover suite, in close proximity to the tennis action on Centre Court and Court No 1, with champagne, fine dining, afternoon tea and Pimms and strawberries the order of the day, it’s no surprise that Wimbledon is also serving up celebrities whose tennis chic has also raised the luxury quotient.
Pitch perfect: Sienna Miller in Prada.
Sienna Miller, working the hottest trend of the tournament, a beige Prada polka-dot cropped shirt and pleated skirt with a white Prada handbag and nude sandals, aced the dress code. She has always looked great at Wimbledon, over the years wearing a mix of preppy and waspy looks but this designer luxury pitch perfect outfit epitomises the event’s modernity and elegance.
Close to all the tennis action: the Range Rover suite.
“As an iconic cultural event watched by millions across the world, The Championships provides the ideal opportunity for Range Rover to engage with our global clients with creative storytelling, that perfectly captures the elegance and refinement of two modern luxury brands,” said Geraldine Ingham, Range Rover Managing Director. Every Range Rover is available as a plug-in electric hybrid, with the first fully electric Range Rover due to be revealed later this year. The latter concept has been brought to reality by an Irish man – Dundalk-born engineer and Range Rover Vehicle Line Director, Rory O’Murchu. He says it will be “the most capable electric SUV in the world, and the most refined yet”. No surprise then!