Mention the word 'Wimbledon' to any Brit over the next two weeks and you'll no doubt conjure up conversations about the delights of fresh Pimms in the sunshine, strawberries and cream, whether Andy Murray will win the tournament for a third time, and bets as to when Prince Harry's girlfriend, Meghan Markle, will make an appearance on Centre Court.
However, behind the prize money, tennis whites, world-class tennis players, and crowds waiting in anticipation to see the likes of Federer, Djokovic, Ostapenko and Williams deliver a winning serve at Match Point, there are approximately 250 Wimbledon Boys and Girls (BBGs) who have undergone six months of intensive physical training sessions, learned new tennis terminology, developed their concentration skills and the ability to seem nonchalant when a 120mph ball flies towards their face.
However, if anything, we admire the teenagers' ability to running in intervals for a whole hour while fetching and rolling tennis balls to players, grabbing towels and water bottles.
In fact, according to researchers from Currys PC World, who tracked the Wimbledon Ball Girls' movements via wearable tech in 2015, they ran a total of 248 miles over the course of the whole tennis tournament.
To put that into context, that's equivalent to the distance between London and Paris in just two weeks.
To carry out the study, the company collected data over a five-day period at The Boodles tennis tournament, using a FitBit, which was worn by 18 ball girls.
And, while the likes of Murray and Nadal themselves racked up an average of 9,000 steps per match that same year, their BBGs weren't far behind with approximately 7,100 per match.
And we thought we were the ones who needed a pitcher of Pimms during Wimbledon…
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
