Wimbledon Boosts Prize Fund For 2012

Prize money for this year’s Wimbledon tournament is set to swell by 10% this year, the largest increase since 1993, with the majority directed to help lower-ranked players.

The overall pot will grow by 10% to £16.1m with a record £1.15m awaiting the men’s and women’s singles champions, however the biggest beneficiaries will be players who exit the competition in the early rounds.

All England Club chairman Philip Brook told BBC Sport: ‘We must help players meet the rising costs of professional tennis.’

First-round losers will receive a boost in prize money of 26%, with a 21% increase for losers in the Wimbledon qualifying event.

The increase follows rumours of unrest among players that the distribution of wealth at the major competitions – Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open – was too heavily weighted in favour of the game’s leading players.