Youngsters create tennis ball mosaic ahead of championships to highlight access to clean water

Two youngsters have helped a water charity create a giant tennis ball mosaic ahead of the Wimbledon Championship, near No. 1 Court, to highlight the importance of clean water.

Finn, aged nine, and Darcey, eight, have helped WaterAid and the Wimbledon Foundation to create the mosaic.

The artwork shows a young boy enjoying clean water with the message that more than 11,000 children’s lives could be saved during the Championships if everyone everywhere had access to clean water and toilets.

Finn, from Raynes Park and Darcey, from Wimbledon Chase, are part of the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative.

They helped to put the final 100 balls into place, completing the task started by artists from Sand in Your Eye, who took 12 hours to create the tennis court-sized portrait.

Darcey said: “Every child deserves clean water and taps, and it is so sad that so many miss school because they don’t have it.”

The mosaic showed 10-year-old Tefy from a village in Madagascar who, with the help of WaterAid and partners including the Wimbledon Foundation, now has clean water at school and near his home.

Finn said: “I can’t imagine not having clean water. I love the mosaic and I think the work that WaterAid does to help children is really good.”

Picture: Oliver Dixon