Tennis fans are buying sought-after £40 red 'strawberry towels' at the Wimbledon Championships with some selling them online for a 40 per cent profit.Spectators have faced long queues outside stores within the All England Club as they attempt to buy the limited-edition products which are proving hugely popular.Wimbledon sold 6,330 of the red towels on site during its first week - almost as many as the 7,423 classic championship version in the club's green and purple colours.Players at the tournament have also pocketed hundreds of the towels each day as souvenirs for themselves or their teams, with some supporters asking them for one.Wimbledon's courts team distributed 3,789 towels in the first six days of this year's championships, with just 1,044 returned – meaning 457 were taken daily.The towels are available in-store or on the Wimbledon website for £40, but are already being sold for up to £55 on eBay - a profit of £15 or 38 per cent.Italian player Flavio Cobolli was mocked by Wimbledon's own social media team after being seen piling towels into his bag during his second-round victory last week.An interviewer asked him after his win: 'I saw you picked up about 15 towels. Are you giving them out to the crowd after?' Fans were heard shouting and Cobolli then replied: 'Thanks, guys. A lot of Italian [fans]. But the towels are for my team.' Flavio Cobolli of Italy has been dubbed the 'new towel thief' at the Wimbledon Championships Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus uses a red towel during a break in her Wimbledon match last Friday Italy's Jannik Sinner uses a towel during a break in play against Miomir Kecmanovic last week American star Serena Williams uses a towel to wipe her face at the All England Club last week A red Wimbledon towel on a player's seat at the All England Club in south-west LondonCobolli then threw out one towel to the crowd before making a gesture which signalled they would get no more – and the Wimbledon TikTok channel later posted a short clip captioned: 'Move over Iga, we have a new towel thief on our hands.'Iga Swiatek, the women's champion, had been nicknamed the 'towel thief' because of her habit of hoarding iconic towels from Grand Slams including Wimbledon.She later revealed she collects them as souvenirs to give to her family, friends and charities.Players are allowed to take home towels if they wish, and All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said: 'We are delighted if our towel is such a sought-after item.'She also told the Times: 'Sales in the shop suggest that the towel is something people really want to own and I am not surprised the players feel the same.'Winston Sedgwick, assistant manager of the court services team that distributes the towels, added: 'It's a desirable object. That's been the case as long as Wimbledon's been doing towels. Players like to have a souvenir of each one.'Daniel Ashmore, head of retail, merchandise and licensing at Wimbledon, told the Telegraph that the towel had become the club's 'number one bestseller' online.He added: 'We're calling that the strawberry towel this year. Anything with a strawberry on it in 2025 sold very quickly and very well, so red has become within our collection something of an unofficial fourth colour this year.'Online that is selling at about a rate of 1.2 to every green and purple towel.'Mr Ashmore added that he expected the towels to sell out by the end of the tournament, with online sales 'doing phenomenally well, and it has surprised us'. The red towel can be purchased at the All England Club stores and on the Wimbledon website The £40 red towels already being sold for up to £55 on eBay - a profit of £15 or 38 per cent Iga Swiatek, the women's champion, had been nicknamed the 'towel thief' because of her habit of hoarding iconic towels from Grand Slams including Wimbledon (pictured in 2025) Separately, this year's strawberries and cream are said to have fallen victim to shrinkflation Disgruntled fans have been posting photographs and videos online of the £2.85 portionsIt comes as Wimbledon attendees have been complaining this year's famous strawberries and cream have fallen victim to shrinkflation.Disgruntled fans have been posting photographs and videos online alleging their £2.85 portions contained fewer than the traditional ten strawberries, while others claimed some of the fruit had been sliced in half to bulk out the serving.The complaints have prompted a wave of criticism, with many questioning whether one of Britain's best-loved sporting staples is quietly getting smaller.The dessert has long been regarded as one of the few bargains at the All England Club, where prices for food and drink have steadily increased in recent years.This year, a portion of strawberries and cream costs £2.85, up from £2.70 last year – when they rose for the first time in 15 years.Among those left unimpressed was Angelina, 42, who counted just nine strawberries in her punnet last week. 'It was disappointing,' she said. 'You want the correct amount. If the cost has gone up and then there's less, then it's unfair.'A spokesman from the All England Club said there is a 'risk' it falls below the ten strawberries it aims for per box, although some customers may find more than ten in their portion.Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREE