This year’s Wimbledon Championships is set to award the singles champion over £2 million in prize money for the first in its history according to a report by The Times.
The surge in prize money has been caused by the British economic climate. In 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union, weakening the value of the pound against the dollar. As a consequence of the result, The All England Club needs to implement a sharper rise in prize money than previous years to counteract the issue. If they fail to do so, players could experience a negative effect on their income.
“The All England Lawn Tennis Club always takes into account the business and economic context of tennis worldwide, including any currency fluctuations, when determining prize money for each year’s championships,” a spokeswoman for Wimbledon told The Times.
Currently the value of the pound is $1:30, a 0.16 decrease on twelve months ago when Andy Murray and Serena Williams won the titles. It is estimated that this year’s champions at SW19 will need to earn at least £2.25 million to be worth the same value in dollars as last year.
It is not the first time that Brexit has caused havoc at Wimbledon. In 2016 it is estimated that Serena Williams lost in the region of $340,000 due to the weakening of the pound. The British public voted to leave the EU less than a month before the start of last year’s championship.
A formal announcement regarding the prize money will be made on Wednesday with both men and women receiving the same amount.
Nothing new
Wimbledon’s increase follows suit of the three other grand slams. In January the Australian Open increased their money pool by 14% to over A$50M ($36.19M). It was the first time in the tournaments 105-year history that they surpassed the A$50M mark. Meanwhile, the French Open has increased their amount to 36 million euros for next month’s tournament.
“We wanted to focus on qualifying, since the gaps are getting wider and wider between those who occupy the top spots, and those who are simply trying to make a living from tennis,” French Open tournament director Guy Forget recently said.
“For the qualies this year, there will be a 33 per cent increase in prize money. The aim is to enable all those players ranked outside No.128 in the world to come to Roland Garros and to be recognised for their true worth.”
The US Open is currently the leader in prize money out of all four grand slams. In 2016 they set a new record of $46.4m with the singles champions taking home 3.5M.
