Wimbledon will have a record £50million total prize money on offer at this summer’s Championships.
The men’s and women’s singles winners will pocket a whopping £2.7m each with the runners-up banking £1.4m apiece.
A rise of 11.9 per cent on last year’s payments sees a hefty rise this time round which saw champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova net a then record £2.35m.
Players who make the main draw of the singles tournaments will this year earn £60,000 each while winners of the men’s and women’s doubles will pick up £650,000 with £1 being made available for the wheelchair and quad wheelchair competitions.
This means the total prize money has increased by £5.3m from last year and doubled from the £25m on offer in 2014.
“With this year’s championships only days away, I am delighted to announce a record prize money fund of £50m, with increases for players in every round and across every event,” said Debbie Evans, chair of the All England Club.
“I am particularly pleased that we have been able to increase prize money for the wheelchair quad and wheelchair competitions to £1m for the first time.
“Interest in attending Wimbledon has never been greater, with unprecedented demand for tickets through our public ballot and corporate hospitality.
“A thriving, successful Championships gives us the opportunity to give back: to the sport, to our local community and to strategically invest for the future.”
Spain’s Alcaraz won his first Wimbledon men’s singles title last year with a thrilling five-set victory over seven-time winner Novak Djokovic.
Meanwhile, Vondrousova became the first unseeded player to win the women’s singles title beating Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
Wimbledon gets underway on July 1 at the All England Club and runs until July 14.
One man who won’t be there, though, is Rafa Nadal, who is focusing on the Olympics in Paris instead.
“During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practising on clay,” the 22-time grand slam winner said in a statement.
“It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics.
“With this goal, we believe that the best for my body is not to change surface and keep playing on clay until then. It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all.
“In order to prepare for the Olympic Games, I will play the tournament in Bastad, Sweden. A tournament that I played earlier in my career and where I had a great time both on and off the court. Looking forward to seeing you all there. Thank you.”
With doubts about Novak Djokovic, it could mean this is the first Wimbledon without either Roger Federer, Nadal or Djokovic since 1998.
News Summary:
- Wimbledon raise prize money to £50million with Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu fighting for record pay-out
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.