While we are all busy following the FIFA World Cup as it reaches its semi-final stage, another annual sporting competition with a great legacy recently culminated. It is Wimbledon. Miles away from the FIFA World Cup, and across the Atlantic, one of the biggest events in tennis, i.e., Wimbledon, saw its crescendo as Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev in a thrilling final in the Men’s Singles event. On the women’s side, Linda Noskova beat Carolina Muchova.
While Wimbledon is an annual affair, compared to the FIFA World Cup that comes once every four years, it is still a prestigious event in the sporting calendar. And in that prestigious competition, India has found a way to immerse itself through ‘Brand Integration.’
We may know about the racquets, tennis balls, jerseys sponsored by big brands for each tennis player, and the official tennis kit, etc. There’s also the court, the stadium, and the grass in the court to wrap your head around. But what about another aspect that players constantly use, and it often goes under the radar? It is the humble towel.
After almost every point scored, any player, male or female, will use a towel to wipe their sweat. These towels come directly from India. Welspun World (formerly Welspun Group) is an Indian multinational conglomerate that was founded and headquartered in India. Started as a Silk Mill, Welspun produces products ranging from gas and energy to pipes, steel, and textiles, among others. It’s the latter product that earned it its biggest reputation.
Wlespun manufactures the iconic green and purple towel for the players to use at official championship at Wimbledon. Even though the company was founded in Mumbai, they have a massive factory in Vapi, Gujarat. This is the terry towel facility where the towels are woven. But the more intriguing question remains that how did Welspun achieve this contract.
In 2006, Welspun acquired Christy, a British cotton mill that has supplied towels to the tournament since 1987. Today, the manufacturing of these highly absorbent and sought-after towels happen completely in Gujarat, India. Such is their demand at the competition that as many as 500 Welspun towels went missing from Wimbledon in 2025.
Tennis stars such as Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic, and Taylor Fritz have joked about stealing them from the competition in the past. But it’s not just jokes. Roger Federer and Swiatek also took them home as gifts. Novak Djokovic even carries a separate suitcase to take the towels home. These towels aren’t ordinary by any measure.
The design process for these towels starts 18 months in advance to the Wimbledon. Each towel takes 7 days to make, factoring in each season’s design and color trend. Welspun has also tied up with the Wimbledon Foundation to pledge a generous donation of 1.2 million Euros over three years to WaterAid. This impactful contribution aims to ensure that communities in Madagascar, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Myanmar have access to clean water, proper sanitation, and improved hygiene practices as an integral part of their daily lives.
In the meantime, Welspun has achieved an extraordinary milestone by achieving complete independence from freshwater usage in their manufacturing plant located in Anjar. Through the implementation of a sewage treatment plant in Anjar and other sustainability initiatives, Welspun has successfully eliminated the need for freshwater consumption.
The fact that Welspun could not only acquire Christy, a British company, but also elevate the quality of towels from what Christy was producing before is a testament in itself to doing good business. This is a brand integration and a business deal of the finest example done right by India. We hope such examples occur often in the future.
