Wimbledon Announces Record Increase In Prize Money

Prize money at this year’s Wimbledon will increase by 20% to £64.2m.

The singles’ champions will each take home £3.6m with first-round losers paid £80,000.

More than £6m has been set aside for the qualifying competition, an increase of 25%.

Overall prize money has increased by £10.7m at a time when a group of players are campaigning for an even greater share of the proceeds.

Chair of the All England Club (AELTC) Deborah Jevans, told reporters: “We are thrilled that we are able to give such a big uplift to the players.

“I hope that the players will sit back and recognise that we listened, that they are sharing in our success and will recognise that this is a significant uplift and a significant amount of money that goes not just to the semi-finalists and finalists.

“And I also hope that they recognise all the improvements that have been made in the facilities.”

Players are campaigning for the Grand Slams to link prize money to tournament revenue – while also making contributions to their benefit pool and offering them a greater say in how the events are run.

The players had been hoping for a sum close to £71.7m from Wimbledon. They want all four Slams to pay 16% of their revenue in prize money this year – and calculate that figure by adding 5% to last year’s revenue.

For this year’s Wimbledon, players advocated for total prize money of £71m, Jevans said, citing her recent talks in Paris with Larry Scott, the former WTA CEO who has been advising the players.

At Roland Garros, top-10 players limited their press conferences with journalists to 15 minutes in symbolic protest of their share of the tournament revenues.

Just over a year ago, 20 leading players signed a letter to the heads of the four Grand Slams seeking more prize money and a greater voice in decision making.

Wimbledon, the oldest Grand Slam tournament, begins on June 29. Iga Swiatek is the defending women’s champion, while the men’s defending champion is Jannik Sinner.