Wimbledon serves up record £53.5m prize pot

Total prize money at this year’s Wimbledon has increased by 7% to a record £53.5m.

The prize pot, worth £50m in 2024, has doubled the £26.5m on offer in 2015 and what was offered a decade ago, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has announced.

Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova each took home £2.7m for winning the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively last year.

This year’s winners will receive £3m, an increase of 11% or 11.1%, which is the highest amount across all Grand Slams. Players knocked out in the first round will receive £66,000, an increase of 10%.

There has been a 4% or 4.4% increase for the men’s and women’s doubles winners, who will earn £680,000, and a 3% or 4.3% increase for the mixed doubles winners, to £135,000. The wheelchair and quad wheelchair events have also seen a 5.6% increase. The increase follows calls from the world’s top players for significant improvements in prize money at the four Grand Slams to ensure a more equitable distribution of revenue.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club has also confirmed the full introduction of live electronic line calling. The technology, trialled in part last year, will end Wimbledon’s 147-year use of line judges, replacing them for the first time. More than 400 cameras have been installed across the courts. The AELTC has also confirmed changes to the finals schedule, with the doubles finals on the weekend starting at 13:00 local time and the singles finals at 16:00. Wimbledon runs from 30th June to 13th July.

Deborah Jevans, AELTC chair, said, “We have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players. But the focus on just the prize money at the four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is with tennis. The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don’t have an off-season which they want, they have increasing injuries that they’re speaking about.”

Sally Bolton, AELTC Chief Executive, said, “Whether that’s the doubles finalists having greater certainty over their schedule, whether it’s the fans having the opportunity to experience a day which builds to the crescendo of the singles finals or ensuring that we have our champions crowned in front of the widest possible audience.”

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