When it comes to Wimbledon, folks get excited about watching their favourite players rock the world on the court. From Novak Djokovic to Naomi Osaka, we notice everything but the grains of fabric that wipe the sweat of the champions playing on the court. More specifically, what we have failed to notice for 17 years collectively is the manufacturer of the “British” Wimbledon towels.
The road map starts long ago in 1850, when Manchester’s Christy mill began weaving world-renowned Wimbledon towels. By the time 1987 came around, Christy became Wimbledon's official supplier, strengthening a partnership where a quintessentially British product served as a premier sporting tradition for not only the athletes but the audience as well. However, this local bond quietly shifted in 2006 when an Indian textile giant, Welspun, acquired the heritage of the brand. While Christy retained its Manchester design studio, manufacturing gradually shifted to Welspun Living's facilities in Gujarat, India, completing the transition by 2010. Consequently, for nearly two decades, every iconic green-and-purple towel slung over a champion's shoulder or smuggled home in a player's luggage has been proudly woven in India.
IS THE TOWEL AN EASY SEW?
THE COLOR LOGIC
The colours of the Wimbledon towels follow a deliberate logic. Men’s towels are strictly glued to Wimbledon’s classic club palette of dark green, purple, and gold year after year. For the women, however, the towels get a refreshed seasonal colour scheme annually to match the emerging design trends. For 2026, the women's edition came in a striking red and white, which fans promptly nicknamed the "strawberry towel." Christy's designers finalise these patterns roughly 18 months before the tournament begins, meticulously testing how the palettes read on television under intense stadium lighting.
THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
The production of the towels is far from a quick or cheap process. Each towel takes about seven days in total to manufacture, blending precision design work and heavy industry. They are crafted using a premium technique called yarn-dyed jacquard weaving. Instead of printing the patterns on top of the fabric, the colored yarn is woven directly into the seams. This intricate process is what gives the towels their reversible, richly textured design, and it ensures that a stray pulled thread won't unravel the entire pattern. To survive the gruelling sweat of elite tennis, the towels also utilise patented HygroCotton technology, significantly improving their courtside softness and absorbency. The physical manufacturing of these iconic green-and-purple towels takes place in India at Welspun Living's massive facilities in Vapi (Valsad district) and Anjar (Kutch), located in Gujarat. The parent Welspun group ranks among the largest home textile manufacturers in the world.
EXACTLY HOW FAMOUS ARE THESE TOWELS?
Every summer, the pristine courts and the respected audience become witnesses to a quiet but aggressive heist: the disappearance of the iconic Wimbledon towel – the running joke of the games. The All England Club treats these plush, green-and-purple linens as an elite perk, allowing players to pack them away with zero obligation to return them, while many fans of the game have to purchase these at high rates.
As a result, competitors pocket an average of 457 towels every single day, draining up to 4,000 towels from the tournament's 7,000-piece stock by the final match. This Terry-cloth obsession has turned top players like Iga Swiatek into self-proclaimed "towel thieves" who admit to packing extra suitcases just to hoard the £40 cotton status symbols for family and friends. From world number ones packing empty suitcases specifically for towel hauls to fans clearing out the souvenir shops, these £40 cotton status symbols have transformed from basic court-side necessities into tennis's ultimate luxury currency.
SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER? IT'S JUST A TOWEL, RIGHT?
To many, this may seem like a mere fact that they came across on social media. But for a nation often succumbing to its unlikely, it is more than just a fact. For years, many of us thought these towels were born and bred by one of the most famous nations in the world. But this year we find out that the world's most national object for one of the world's most famous nations is being sewn by the hands of someone else.
It is a quiet, poetic inversion of history. The very empire that once arrived on South asian shores to claim our resources now relies on our looms to drape its own champions and wipe their hard-earned sweat. There is a profound dignity in knowing that the fabric held high on centre court – witnessed by millions and guarded like royalty – carries the unseen heartbeat of Gujarat within its fibres. It proves that while they may own the prestigious tournament, India weaves the very identity that defines it.
Resources:
- https://www.reuters.com
- https://gulfnews.com
- https://yourstory.com
- https://www.tennisworldusa.org
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com