A fainting ballboy is revived, record-breaking rainfall and The Queue goes international on a busy day one in SW19
Day one of the Championships and we already have a strong contender for the inaugural Big Heart of Wimbledon award: Britain’s Jodie Burrage. The 23-year-old lost her first-round tie with Lesia Tsurenko but more memorably went to the aid of a stricken ballboy after he suffered what appeared to be a fainting fit during the first set. Burrage, who says she has had similar experiences herself, first fed the lad some of her own energy gel then requested sweets from the crowd. A bag of popular gummy chews were provided (without advertising brands other than the Diary’s official sponsors*, let’s just say they rhymed with Dercy Dig) and Burrage sat with the boy as he recuperated. The All England Club later confirmed: “he’s fine”.