British heritage brand Christy has designed the official Championships towels since 1988. Christy itself was founded in 1850 as a cotton mill in Manchester, and has also made towels for Britain’s royal family.
In 2006, Indian textile major Welspun acquired Christy. Manufacturing stayed in Britain for a few more years before shifting to Welspun’s facility in Vapi, Gujarat, sometime after 2010.
The design process for each year’s towel starts about 18 months ahead of the tournament, as Christy’s team reviews colour trends before finalising a design. Each towel then takes roughly seven days to make.
The regular towel keeps Wimbledon’s green and purple, while a strawberry-themed version marks the tournament’s strawberries and cream tradition. In some years, Christy has also added a new shade alongside the classic colours.
Why almost nobody gives these towels back
Officially, players must return their towels after each match, but most don’t. Thousands leave the All England Club every year, ending up in players’ kit bags, handed to ball boys and girls, or thrown into the crowd.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner cools down with a towel during a break in play of his semi-final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.
However, only a small share is returned during the tournament, and reports from the 2025 Championships suggested around 500 towels went missing daily.
Meet the “Wimbledon towel thief”
Poland’s Iga Świątek has become known for this habit, drawing the nickname “Wimbledon towel thief.” She has said friends and family expect her to bring towels home after every Grand Slam. Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have also been named among players who keep the towels.
The towels are made using a short-loop terry weave and premium cotton yarn, giving them a soft, absorbent, quick-drying finish that holds up through repeated washes. Christy also runs an heirloom line that turns towels from earlier Championships into tote bags and robes; these sold out quickly on launch. The standard towel is sold online for around £40 (about ₹5,114).
Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic uses an ice towel during a changeover in the women’s singles final against Karolina Muchova of Czech Republic at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London.
Sustainability features in the story too. The towels carry Oeko-Tex’s “Made in Green” certification, and Christy sources cotton through the Better Cotton Initiative. The brand has also replaced plastic packaging with FSC-certified cardboard.
Separately, the Wimbledon Foundation has pledged £1.2 million over three years to WaterAid, to support clean water access in Madagascar, Ethiopia, Malawi and Myanmar. Welspun says its Anjar plant no longer draws on freshwater, following the installation of a sewage treatment system there.
Bollywood beats and kulfi: Wimbledon’s other India moment
Wimbledon’s Indian links extend beyond towels. The tournament’s Instagram account has paired tennis clips with Bollywood tracks, and the All England Club has partnered with Delhi’s Kuremal Kulfi on a limited-edition strawberries-and-cream kulfi — its first such tie-up.
