WIMBLEDON’S money-can’t-buy water bottles have been flogged online for as much as £200 – even if they’ve already been used.
Exclusive Evian bottles were handed out to tennis stars, reporters and ball boys and girls for free at the Championships, but have almost immediately appeared on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.
The bottles are not available to purchase officially, but a huge surge in demand has created a shady and bizarre black market.
Players, including British stars Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, are given three of the 700ml plastic flick-cap bottles each to use and share among their coaching team.
More than 50 of the containers have been put up for sale online, including some supposedly sipped from by world-class players, including the men’s British No1.
One bottle, said to have been used by Draper, 23, in his clash with Marin Cilic last week, was sold for £188.
The listing used a photo of Draper drinking from the bottle on court and showed his name sticker on the side of the container.
Another is said to have been used by Italian world No22 Flavio Cobolli in his clash with Novak Djokovic and was listed for £207.68.
The legendary Serb, 38, also had one of his bottles offered up – with an anonymous eBay seller demanding £154 for one that had been “used by Novak Djokovic”.
Another seller fixed the ‘buy it now’ price of a bottle said to belong to doubles player Guillermo Duran at £1,000.
The Argentine did not even play a match in SW19 as his doubles partner pulled out before the first round.
The surge in sales has sparked fears that some staff may be swiping bottles from the Wimbledon media room or players’ lounge to flog online and spin a profit.
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