Sir David Attenborough received a standing ovation from the crowd as he took his seat in the royal box at Wimbledon Centre Court.
One of the highlights of the sporting year, Wimbledon, got underway today (July 1) with reigning men’s singles champion Carlos Alcaraz opening proceedings on Centre Court as tradition dictates.
As always, the royal box was a who’s who of celebrities and famous faces from across sport and entertainment, and one man in particular got a rousing reception as he took his seat.
Sir David Attenborough was given a standing ovation by those in attendance as he made his way to his seat, next to none other than David Beckham.
You can watch the moment below.
Whilst many of you will associate Sir David with his work with animals and his nature documentaries, the 98-year-old has also had a pretty big influence on the sport of tennis.
Believe it or not, the national treasure is the reason that tennis balls have their distinct luminous yellow colour.
During his time as director of programming at the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s, Attenborough was in charge of bringing colour television to the broadcaster.
He decided that Wimbledon would be one of the perfect events for colour television, telling the Radio Times back in 2017: “I thought of Wimbledon. I mean, it is a wonderful plot: you’ve got drama, you’ve got everything. And it’s a national event, it’s got everything going for it.”
However, Attenborough soon realised that the tennis balls, which at the time were either black or white depending on the shade of the court, weren’t showing up very well on screen.
So, he decided to change them to the luminous yellow (or green) that we all know today.
This colour was then officially accepted by the International Tennis Federation in 1972, and would go on to be a feature across all courts in a matter of years.
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