Melissa Wilson, ex GB rower and co-founder of Athletes of the World, shares insights from the panel as well as guidance for athletes who are interested in being more involved in this area.

In the midst of fiercely-contended second round matches, and during the hottest week on record globally, the first Thursday of the Championships saw well-known names from across sport coming together for an Environment Panel hosted by Match of the Day broadcaster Gary Lineker.

Joining the panel were Olympic Champion and President of World Athletics Lord Sebastian Coe, current player and 2016 Mixed Doubles Champion Heather Watson, double Olympic Champion Hannah Mills OBE and Solheim Cup winner and current captain Suzann Pettersen. 

‘A defining issue of our era’ 

Wimbledon Chief Executive Sally Bolton opened the event, highlighting The Championship’s dual opportunity to take action itself for the future, and also play a broader role by convening individuals and organisations to drive engagement, raise accountability and deliver solutions.

Identifying climate change as ‘a defining issue of our era’, Sally set the tone for a session in which each of the panellists were quick to acknowledge the impact climate was already having on sport - and would have in the future. This was particularly highlighted by Lord Coe, who explained that climate action is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but is now ‘absolutely central to everything we do’.

On a practical level, this stems from the climate impacts many sports are already seeing affect their training and competition. World Athletics has already seen 75% of their elite track and field athletes report that climate change has impacted their training programmes, racing programmes and their ability to compete.

But a key part of the rationale behind this is also sport’s core commitment to engaging young people - many of whom are increasingly concerned about the future wellbeing of the planet. Coe reflected that young people ‘look at [sports] and they ask… “Do you reflect the world that I live in?”. It’s important for us to show that we actually care about the things they care about.’

For tennis long term, the rising temperatures pose serious challenges to the performance and health of both current and future players - especially given that match times can run to several hours, with no opportunity for players to be ‘subbed out’ to escape the heat.

Whilst some sports are able to adjust competition locations based on temperature considerations, many of tennis’s most iconic events - including Wimbledon itself - are held in mid-summer and in a single location, in countries that are seeing temperatures ratcheting up towards 50 degrees and beyond the point human physiologies can reasonably be expected to adapt. Olympic sailor Hannah Mills reflected that ‘we are running out of time rapidly’ to make the changes needed to protect sport and the rest of the planet.

Sport as ‘part of the change’

The next few years will be pivotal in bringing about the changes needed to avoid the most severe climate impacts. In tennis terms, this is breakpoint.

So, how can sport and athletes play their part?

1. Bringing an athlete mindset to climate action

Hannah Mills, Olympic Champion sailor and co-founder of advocacy group Athletes of the World, was keen to spotlight the power of an athlete mindset in facing this, because “as athletes you’re pushing, you’re always breaking boundaries, you’re reaching for goals that seem unachievable, and that’s what we need in the climate crisis”.

Faced with the threats climate change poses, it is sports’ qualities that individuals and global society need to increasingly channel if we’re going to protect a livable future for generations to come. By channelling the urgency, ambition and relentlessness of athletes, never giving up, we give ourselves the best chance of building a safe future.

2. Engaging sports networks: event organisers, governing bodies, commercial partners and fans

Athletes are a touchpoint for reaching people all around the world, in and out of sport, to create momentum behind change. As well as providing an example of the kind of mindset to adopt, Lord Coe identified that sport - and athletes in particular - have a chance to ‘shine a spotlight’ on climate change and its solutions in a way that few other sectors on earth can.

This view was endorsed by Mills, who observed that a key part of climate progress is “getting the messages out there, and sport and athletes are the way to do that in my opinion because nothing reaches more people than sport.” This is both the case in terms of speaking outside sport, to fans and supporters, but also within sport, to stakeholders including event hosts, federations, sponsors and those able to accelerate climate solutions. Golfer Suzann Pettersen reflected that “it’s important that each and every one of us takes responsibility in our own corners” - and for athletes and sport, these “corners” can have greater impact than most, such as tennis’s estimated global fanbase of 1 billion people.

3. Overcoming criticism around hypocrisy

The panel touched on the criticisms of hypocrisy some athletes might face in speaking about climate, but former British No. 1 Heather Watson reflected that “it’s important to realise that everyone will have their own opinions and if you’re doing something good for the environment, for the future, for the youth, that there’s nothing wrong with that at all… Definitely as an athlete with a voice, and my fellow athletes, I think it’s great to speak about this”.

This view was supported by Hannah Mills, who reflected that when it comes to climate change “we are all hypocrites - and we all have a responsibility to do what we can.”

Given the power of athletes’ voices, and what is at stake, individual footprints shouldn’t deter individuals from speaking out and using their voices. For those who want to start making some individual changes, apps like Giki help identify steps to take and chart progress. With travel such a core part of sport’s impact, event organisers are beginning to take steps to reduce the impact of athletes’ travel, such as the ATP Carbon Tracker via the ATP PlayerZone for male players, or the All England Club making a climate contribution to balance emissions associated with player and official travel. Whilst these aren’t a complete solution, they should help add to player confidence that now is the time to engage with these issues.

Hannah also identified the role education had played in her own journey - learning more about the different issues at play, and the solutions on offer, from reducing plastics, to appreciating the role that athletes can have in promoting the innovations that need to be prioritised. Podcasts can provide an entry-point into these issues, including Emergency on Planet Sport’s episodes on heat in sport, the ATP and Wimbledon.

 4. Coming together with other athletes

What can also help is engaging with these issues alongside other athletes. This is part of the reason increasing numbers of sportspeople are coming together around initiatives such as Athletes of the World, whose campaigns have engaged over 650 athletes from 40 different sports, including their video to World Leaders in 2021 with Olympic flag-bearers from 35 different countries. High Impact Athletes is a second athlete-founded organisation helping athletes build their impact beyond the court, running track or the playing field, and their roster includes tennis stars Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alize Cornet, Elise Mertens, Milos Raonic, Bruno Soares, Kevin Anderson and Jamie Murray.

Sport, and the athletes at its core, have an unmatched opportunity to be part of the solution to climate change. As panellist Suzanne Pettersen reflected: “Sport has a unique way of communicating and it’s a massive platform where you can reach out to every single small point in the world. It’s important that we can showcase that it’s possible to make a change, and be part of the change rather than part of the problem.”

With more and more athletes using their voice in this space, there’s never been a better time to start to engage. Let’s clear our heads, ground ourselves, and fight back from breakpoint...

Following the event, all competitors were issued with a summary note linking to the issues and actions outlined above.

Find out more about Wimbledon’s Environment Positive aim here.