Tom Holland may be able to do backflips and upside-down makeout scenes as Spider-Man, but no matter how hard he tried, the British actor couldn’t land the coveted role of ‘ball boy’ at Wimbledon.
Holland, who grew up in Kingston, just a short drive from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where the tournament takes place, tried out for the opportunity every year through his school. But he was never good enough at catching—or standing still—to make the cut.
“I was very sad about that,” he told a small crowd at the Chase Travel Court Club last weekend, where cardholders had the opportunity to meet Holland before attending the tournament. Still, he has fond memories of queuing up to watch the games. And besides: “Because I’m an actor, I’m an attention seeker,” he said. “So I would have been trying to make it all about me.”
He certainly turned heads in a pink shirt at Center Court on Tuesday. But instead of Zendaya, his now-fiancée, who was the unofficial face of tennis last year after her Challengers performance, he brought his brother as his date. Of course, Holland was at the tournament to watch stars like Carlos Alcaraz compete for the trophy—and, apparently, ask them out for a round of golf—but he was also there to promote his non-alcoholic beer brand, Bero.
“It’s no secret that I really struggled with alcohol and had an issue,” Holland said. In 2022, he got sober, but he couldn’t find a non-alcoholic alternative to beer that “scratched the itch.” So, he partnered with Bero that same year and worked closely with the company to create flavors that he’d not only enjoy at the pub, but also while watching sports like tennis.
“Zendaya doesn’t like beer, so when she doesn’t like it, I’m like, Okay, that’s good because that means it tastes like beer,” Holland said of the Bero testing process. Last fall, Bero released its first three flavors, one of which Holland named after his and Zendaya’s dog, Noon, who also stole the show at the Chase Travel Court Club last Saturday. Each flavor was represented on Holland’s custom Hades sweater, which had Bero cans for buttons. (“A little on the nose,” he admitted.)
Of course, drinking and sports go hand-in-hand. At Wimbledon, spectators are even allowed to bring bottles of alcohol and glass cups into the stands. On Saturday, the sound of a Champagne cork popping interrupted a women’s match at Center Court, causing the chair umpire to scold the crowd. So, perhaps some fans really could use a non-alcoholic alternative.
“I have dreams of having Bero at football stadiums,” said Holland, a Tottenham Hotspur fan at heart. He might have to change a law or two, but he’d love it if spectators “could stand on the sidelines and drink a cold one without breaking the rules.” He’s also got his sights on The Norbiton, his favorite pub in Kingston. For now, Bero is available at various retailers and Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club around the world, so Holland and others can still enjoy a “cold one” on a flight.
As for the ball boy position, Holland is happy to fill the role for Zendaya. He says he watched some of her Challengers training camp sessions and played with her at the court in the basement of their apartment building when they lived in New York. “Sometimes, I would down and feed her balls, and we would rally together,” he said. “I love how much she got into it.”