Dear Chairman and trustees of the All England Lawn Tennis Association, 

We have been profoundly shocked by the death of 8 year old Selena Lau and Nuria Sajjad as the result of the driver of a Land Rover driving into the Study Preparatory School on July 6th. 

Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased children, the injured, the Study school community and the whole Wimbledon community. 

We don’t want this to happen anymore so we have been thinking about what is required to avoid another tragedy similar to this one in our capital.

At the centre of the collision was a Land Rover Defender, a SUV of more than 2 tonnes. 

It’s not the first time in London that a 4X4 has caused a very serious accident involving school children. 

In September 2020, the driver of a SUV collided with a group of eight pupils and parents near Beatrix Potter Primary School in Earlsfield, Wandsworth, 2 miles away from Wimbledon tennis club. 

The growth of SUVs sales in the UK means that our streets are getting more and more unsafe for children because of the weight and the height of those vehicles. 

 

British academics who analysed police collision data have identified pedestrians are 70% more likely to be killed if they are hit by someone driving a 2.4-litre engine vehicle than a 1.6-litre model.

 

For reference, in the US, where SUVs dominate the market, 7508 pedestrians were struck and killed by vehicles in 2022. In 2021, a SUV or a pick up was involved in 40% of the deaths. 

 

For this reason and because they are highly polluting vehicles that damage children’s lungs and drive climate change, we believe that we need to drive SUVs off the streets of London, and the UK in general. 

The All England Lawn Tennis Club has a role to play in this endeavour for a safer, healthier and all round more pleasant London. 

In 2021, your organisation signed up a 5 year sponsorship with Jaguar Land Rover, the world leading manufacturer of luxury SUVs like the one involved in the fatal Study school collision. 

In regard to the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s commitment to sustainability and in the light of the tragic event which shook Wimbledon and the whole of London, this sponsorship strikes us as wholly inappropriate. 

We therefore ask you not to renew this partnership with Jaguar Land Rover in three years time or any sponsorship that goes against your organisation’s commitment to a better future. 

As tennis lovers, we want to be able to enjoy watching the Wimbledon Championships without your support for SUVs weighing on our minds and that of our families. 

We look forward to hearing from you. 

Best wishes,

Amandine Alexandre