In 2022, the Wimbledon Singles Champions will each get £2 million
Wimbledon announced record prize money for this year’s edition of the sport’s oldest Grand Slam tournament on Thursday, with the two singles victors each receiving £2 million ($2.5 million, 2.3 million euros).
The £40.35 million prize pool is up 11.1 percent from last year’s Championships, when capacity at the southwest London venue was curtailed due to Covid issues.
It’s also 5.4 percent more than the previous ‘regular’ edition of Wimbledon, which took place in 2019.
Following Wimbledon’s contentious decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there has been speculation that the ATP (men’s) and WTA (women’s) tours might remove ranking points, resulting in a decreased prize pool.
However, organisers have increased the overall sum due to expecting large crowds and the fact that the game will be played on the middle Sunday for the first time.
Players who are eliminated in the first round of the singles will receive £50,000, while the runners-up in the finals will receive more than £1 million each.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka has threatened to withdraw from this year’s Wimbledon due to the decision to remove ranking points from the tournament, but she has yet to declare whether she would miss the final of tennis’ four majors currently played on grass.
“From the first round of the qualifying competition to the champions being crowned, this year’s prize money distribution aims to reflect just how important the players are to The Championships as we look to continue to deliver one of the world’s leading sporting events,” said Ian Hewitt, chairman of Wimbledon organisers the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC).
AFP
