Keen anticipation about each Championships at Wimbledon comes in many forms. Who will be top seeds? Who are the dark horses in the draw? What records will be broken? Who will pair up in the mixed doubles? What colour combo will this year’s seasonal Official Championship Towel come in?

Ochre and turquoise for 2021, as it happens.

The Official Championships Towel may simply be a rectangle of fully machine washable 100 per cent combed HygroCotton pile, measuring 70 x 133cm and weighing 500g, but it has attained iconic status as a collectible. The obsessive behavioural habits relating to this quality weave of the finest absorbent yarns are legendary among players and fans alike.

At the end of a match, players are expected to leave the towels behind to be laundered. Court attendants politely ask for them, but enjoy only 20 per cent success in the reclaim procedure. So coveted have they become as mementos that the vast majority leave the court casually slung around the neck of a player or scrunched up inside their zipped bag.

The "Breaking News" this year is that for the first time, each player will find neatly laid out on their chair on court both the classic version of the official towel in All England Club colours of green and purple and the seasonal towel in the aforementioned golden yellow and blue.

Traditionally, the classic model was reserved for the men’s draws and the softer-hued seasonal option for the women. This year there is no gender specificity. To the enthralment of many players who in previous years sought out “the complete set”, both towels will be in play for each competitor at every match.

Acquiring both versions was a tricky pursuit, often a frantic scramble, for the 50 per cent of players who go out in the first round.

Andy Murray earned applause from Daniel Ashmore, Retail Operations & Buying Manager at the All England Club, as he set about the telegenic business of being the focus of attention on Centre Court on Day 1 with one of each of his towels slung over both shoulders. Talk about product placement!

Even in the euphoria of victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe scurried purposefully back to the towel rack at the back of No.1 Court to make sure he could pack his allocation in his kit bag before stepping up to the microphone.

“It’s quite exciting for us,” says Ashmore. “The towels now tie into our apparel collection. It’s a big departure.”

Fans, too, assiduously collect the towels. An astonishing 27,419 Championships towels sold in 2019 – a record figure. Think of the towels that must adorn bathrooms, poolside sun beds and washing lines all around the world and you realise that there are many corners of global domestic life that are forever Wimbledon.

Since 1987, Christy has been the Official Towel Licensee to The Championships, Wimbledon. This year their prized product will have an even higher value as a revered collectible, due to a potential scarcity of stock.

“Owing to the manufacturing lead times on the towels, we had to commit to our Championships orders in November/December 2020, at a time when we were unsure of how our crowds might scale this summer,” says Ashmore. “Would Wimbledon go ahead? And with what size crowd?"

With the announcement of our test event status coming so close to the start of the tournament, we haven’t had the opportunity to produce more towels for sale at The Championships. On current sales, we expect that the Official Championships Towels could sell through before finals weekend. We will be monitoring sales closely on-site and may need to limit supply with a cap on sales per customer.”

What happened to 2020’s consignment of 30,000 Championship Towels? Ashmore and his team worked closely with The Wimbledon Foundation to donate them to charitable causes around the country, which included 5,000 towels to the British Red Cross for their refugee projects, 2,400 towels to homelessness charity Crisis, 5,000 towels to Merton key workers, 2,000 towels to Wandsworth key workers and 8,000 towels to the Hygiene Bank, a community initiative which gives hygiene, personal care and household cleaning products to those in need across the UK.

“We couldn’t deliver the towels to players and fans at The Championships, but it was a highlight for the shop team to send out the 2020 towels to the list of recipients. We had great fun,” says Ashmore.

A feelgood factor is woven into the Official Championship Towels. Visually, they command attention; in terms of handling, they demand special care. The mother of a court attendant who spotted her son on television meticulously folding towels prior to play on Court 18 posted the image on Instagram with the comment, “If only he took such care folding towels at home #attentiontodetail #wimbledon #inpursuitofgreatness”.

It is a matter of tiny regret for Ashmore and his team that the players, in the heat of competitive action, tend to fling the towels over the new Covid-secure towel racks at the back of each court. “I wish they’d place them more neatly, like you’d have in a guest room at home,” he said. “But the fact that they love them is a fantastic endorsement.”