How Eastbourne’s international tennis fans will be part of an environmental milestone

The partnership, aiming to remove all single-use plastic water bottles from the LTA’s major events, will see BRITA provide water across the LTA’s ATP and WTA events in Nottingham, Birmingham, Eastbourne and The Queen’s Club in London via BRITA dispensers and refillable bottles to players, officials, and ticket holders, with refill stations courtside, in player lounges, and in public areas.

The agreement marks a major milestone for promoting sustainability in British tennis, with both the LTA and BRITA committed to paving the way in terms of environmental responsibility by aiming to remove all single-use plastic water bottles from the LTA’s major events. This move, made possible thanks to the provision of water dispensers and refillable filtered water bottles by BRITA, will eliminate the use of 100,000 single-use bottles from this year's tournaments.

By bringing BRITA-filtered water to the LTA’s major events in 2024, the LTA and BRITA are committed to taking a major step forward towards binning bottled water for good.

The UK bottled water industry produced an estimated four billion bottles in 2022, with the majority ending up in landfill or incinerators, and a report by Retail Economics, commissioned by BRITA, WDC and Refill, also found that 413 million disposable bottles would be sold between 2022 and 2026 purely through advertising and marketing tactics. Through its Environmental Sustainability Plan(https://www.lta.org.uk/49b7ca/siteassets/about-lta/file/lta-environmental-sustainability-plan.pdf), the LTA is working to secure a lasting future for tennis in Britain, through positive action on climate change and leadership in sustainability. A key aspect of this work is focusing on resource efficiency, working to reduce waste from the LTA’s operations and major events, and supporting the tennis community to do the same. Working in partnership, the LTA and BRITA have jointly committed to elevate conversations around sustainability in sport by tackling single-use plastic waste, which contributes to pollution of the planet’s oceans and greenhouse gas emissions from production right through to its disposal.

Players competing at LTA events this summer will be provided with BRITA reusable bottles, which can be filled up either in event player lounges, or at water dispensers courtside. All spectators attending the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham, the cinch Championships in London and the Rothesay International in Eastbourne will be encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottle, or alternatively they can purchase their own BRITA filter bottle on-site at a discounted price, both of which can be filled up on-site.

This development follows on from progress at the LTA’s major events in 2023, which saw partnerships with food charities local to LTA events to reduce food waste, and all catering materials at major events being recyclable or reusable, with a reusable cup scheme introduced to reduce single-use plastic waste.

Scott Lloyd, LTA Chief Executive said, ‘Environmental changes are impacting tennis at all levels and it’s vital we all play our part to secure the sport for future generations. We are delighted to have BRITA on board, the first ever non-single-use water brand to sponsor tennis in Britain, with this partnership demonstrating the viability of sustainable alternatives for major sporting events and, by taking a huge stride towards eliminating single-use plastic from our events, underlining the LTA’s ambition to be a leader in sport for sustainability.’

David Hall, Managing Director of Brita UK said, ‘A staggering additional 413 million single-use-plastic bottles are predicted to be sold between 2022-2026 as a direct result of marketing tricks, which is why responsible sponsorship in sport is so important; we’re delighted to be supporting the LTA as change makers, as we move to a better and more sustainable future. We have long been campaigning for both households and organisations to make the switch from single-use bottled water to tap or – for those who don’t like the taste – filtered. For this reason, supporting the LTA in its journey is something we’re incredibly excited to be involved in.’