Racquets at the ready! The annual AELTC Championships brings out the competitive nature in us all, with Wimbledon Village shops and businesses decorating their windows for the annual Wimbledon Village Tennis Windows Competition. The competition, set up by Kimberley Salmassian, is now in its eleventh year. Celebrating all that is special about this unique lawn tennis tournament on our doorstep, Peacock & Co have been creating tennis windows since 2021.
Our 2021 window paid homage to the 1986 movie starting Kim Cattrall, Mannequin. And we even garnered interest from the star herself.
The following year, our See You In Court window saw our mannequin (procured from a West Country bridal store) take her barrister’s silks on to the tennis court. This window won the popular vote, accrued from the most likes on the Wimbledon Village Events Facebook album.
We also were awarded worst pun by this Channel Four executive:
To mark the occasion of the King’s coronation in 2023, our Tennis Royalty window showcased the tournament’s greats, along with even more puns – Boris Becker, Been Served.
This year we present our legal Bar-ometer (another pun). Keep your eyes on our Wimbledon Weather Watch as our temperamental summer continues to flit between days that are dramatic, drizzly, and dazzling. Will rain stop play for you?
To create this year’s window, 180 Wimbledon 2024 tennis balls were glued to create our window frame; six brollies were suspended with tensile wire; and our mannequin Sue is back – sporting a high-fashion poncho, tennis dress, and Wimbledon Championships umbrella, for those less-than-dazzling days. The Daily Mail have returned our model Sue back to her heady modelling days in the public eye (see the online gallery).
If you enjoy our annual creative efforts, do vote for us by liking our picture in this year’s album. Hopefully the judges will agree!
Wimbledon Championship facts
Each tournament, 50 tonnes of strawberries are consumed.
55,000 tennis balls are used. Used balls can be bought from the kiosk by Court 14.
Yellow tennis balls were introduced in 1986 for TV broadcasting (previously they were white).
290 Ball boys and girls assist during the tournament, trained from local schools.
Grass is meticulously cut to a height of 8mm across 18 courts.
All data courtesy of AELTC, 2022
Sue wears: Poncho, model’s own (last seen at Glastonbury); White tennis dress, Slazenger; Headband and wristbands, Ralph Lauren for Wimbledon; Grey trainers, Nike. Trainers available for purchase (£40)! Ask our reception.