Frank Dalleres
LONDON - How much do players get for winning Wimbledon? Ahead of finals weekend, City A.M. answers that question and examines how Wimbledon prize money compares to other Grand Slams.
The men’s and women’s singles champions of Wimbledon are set to party like it’s 2019 after the Championships elevated the winners’ prize money back to pre-pandemic levels.
First prize is now £2.35m, a 17.5 per cent increase on the amount earned by Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina last year and equal to the payout pocketed by Djokovic and Simona Halep in 2019.
Prize money across tennis and in other sports dipped as a result of Covid-19, which caused the cancellation of tournaments and limited ticket income. When competitions resumed, greater weighting was given to payouts in earlier rounds as a means of supporting hard-up lower-ranked players.
But it has steadily increased again and earlier this summer the French Open paid its champions, Djokovic and Iga Swiatek, €2.3m (£1.96m), the same as the 2019 winners received.
Wimbledon has now followed suit and will once again pay its runners-up £1.175m, exactly half as much as the winners.
Even first-round losers in SW19 bank £55,000, while Brits Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie will each receive £85,000 for falling in the second round.
Katie Boulter, who went furthest of all the home players at this year’s tournament, earned £131,000 for reaching the third round.
How does Wimbledon prize money compare with other Grand Slams?
Wimbledon prize money is typically second only to the US Open among the four majors.
The first prize of £2.35m currently converts to $3.08m, more than the $2.6m awarded to 2022 US Open champions Carlos Alcaraz and Swiatek.
The American Grand Slam paid its winners $3.85m before the pandemic and will likely increase again this year if it follows the industry trend.
The French Open is the next most lucrative, with its €2.3m payout for singles champions converting to £1.96m or $2.57m.
At the Australian Open this year’s singles champions, Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka, earned the equivalent of $2.05m each.
However, all four majors are put in the shade by the ATP Finals, for the eight best players of the year on the men’s tour, where Djokovic trousered $4.7m for winning the season-ending tournament last year.
In the women’s equivalent, the WTA Finals, Carline Garcia earned $1.57m for winning in 2022.
