Wimbledon confirms record £50m prize money on offer at this year’s championships -

The prize pot for this year’s Wimbledon has increased by 11.9 per cent to total £50m, just short of the Grand Slam record set at last year’s US Open.

The total prize pot at the 2023 US Open was £50.8m ($65m), meaning Wimbledon — despite its £50m being an All England Lawn Tennis Club record — is just below that but above the figures of around £45m that the Australian Open and French Open offered this year. The US Open has not yet confirmed its prize money structure for this year’s event, which begins in late August.

The singles champions at this year’s Wimbledon will receive £2.7m each, with the runners-up each getting £1.4m. That £2.7m is higher than the £2.3m that the singles winners at the US Open received last year, and is more than what the champions are awarded in Melbourne (£1.64m) and at Roland Garros (£2.03m).

Below the top echelons, first-round prize money for the singles competition is set at £60,000. The doubles prize money fund will increase by 11.9 per cent from 2023, while the qualifying competition allocation will rise by 14.9 per cent.

The prize money for the wheelchair and quad wheelchair events has been set at £1m, with the singles and doubles draws expanded to 16 players and eight teams. Overall, the Wimbledon prize pot has doubled from £25m in 2014.

GO DEEPER

Surface mastery: How Alcaraz won Grand Slams on hard, grass and clay courts

Iga Swiatek banked £2.03m for winning the French Open earlier this month (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Speaking at a media briefing at the All England Club, chief executive Sally Bolton said that the increased prize pot was designed to ensure that players at the sharper end of the sport, as well as its biggest names, were properly remunerated.

Elsewhere, during the event, Bolton confirmed that there are plans in place should two-time champion Andy Murray confirm that this is his final Wimbledon.

“We have certainly got plans in place and we’re ready and prepared but ultimately it is Andy’s decision and we will be very much led by him and amend our plans accordingly,” Bolton said. “We are ready in any eventuality but it has to be led by Andy.

“We don’t need any notice — we are ready. We have plans that are very adaptable. We are clear about what we want to do. It is really important that this is Andy’s call and we will be very much led by him and the decision that he makes.”

Wimbledon ensuring there is dialogue with the Murray camp before and during the event to ascertain his plans is definitely sensible. In 2019, the Australian Open produced a retirement-style video montage that was shown to Murray on court after he had revealed before the tournament that a hip injury meant his career could be nearly over. Only for Murray to awkwardly say after watching the video that he wasn’t necessarily retiring and that he would “do everything possible to try to go again.”