Wimbledon reveals record increase in prize money in bid to prevent player revolt

Wimbledon will increase its prize money to a record £64.2m, with the winners of the singles titles receiving £3.6m in the biggest ever uplift in tournament history, in a bid to prevent more player protests ahead of this year’s tournament and in response to the looming threat of civil war in the sport.

Wimbledon revealed a significant 20 per cent increase from last year’s overall prize pot of £53.5m, with a substantial boost for the men’s and women’s singles champions from last year’s £3m, while the prize money in qualifying has increased by 25 per cent to £6.2m.

But the figure of interest to the sport’s leading stars is the ratio of prize money to tournament revenue. The world’s top players and their representative Larry Scott have long argued that they should receive a greater percentage of the revenues generated by the four grand slam tournaments and expressed their “deep and collective disappointment” at what they estimated to be a declining share of 14.3 per cent at last month’s French Open.

The players have pushed for that figure, across all four grand slams, to be closer to 22 per cent that is seen at the ATP and WTA’s biggest mixed events. Wimbledon’s prize money last year represented less than 13 per cent of its total revenue, and the tournament was warned anything less than 16 per cent would be met with more disappointment by the players. A percentage of 16 per cent would have been a total prize pool of £71.1m, however, a figure Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, said made “no sense”.

Instead, Jevans pointed to the investment Wimbledon has made in player facilities, including a multi-million pound development of the Millennium Building and the construction of an improved player performance zone, as well a wider investment in the British and European grass-court season and funding for the LTA.

Wimbledon met with Scott, the former chairman and chief executive of the WTA who is leading the players’ demands, during last month’s French Open in Paris and while talks were said to be positive, Jevans suggested there has been frustration at how their message of increasing prize money alongside wider investment in the sport has not been landing with the players.

“We want to have a fantastic Wimbledon for [the players], but using revenue to determine prize money, it makes no sense,” Jevans said. “We have said that to Larry Scott. Revenue does not take into account the investment that we give. We’re not for profit, we’re very different from an ATP Masters 1000 in that everything goes back in the sport. I am frustrated that that message hasn’t gone across, but we have constant dialogue with Larry in this regard. That message will get across to the players to understand the investment back into the game which is so very, very important.”

Additionally, Wimbledon organisers sent a warning to the rest of tennis that “major improvements” are needed to address player burnout and structural issues with the sport’s increasingly packed calendar and fractured governance. Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open are separately facing legal action from The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), with a lawsuit citing “systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare”. Wimbledon have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and Jevans said there are “strong grounds” to do so.

A group of players from the top-10s of the men’s and women’s tours, including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, initially outlined their proposals in letters to the four grand slams in March 2025, also detailing their desire for the major tournaments to start contributing to a player welfare fund, supporting pensions, healthcare and maternity leave, and for more consultation with tournaments around matters such as scheduling.

Several stars, including world No 1s Sinner and Sabalenka, limited their pre-tournament media appearances to 15 minutes during the French Open and have been increasingly vocal in calling for change. In Rome, Sabalenka did not rule out boycotting future grand slams, while Sinner said the dispute of revenue share was about “respect”. In the background, players have been increasingly vocal in their complaints that the tennis calendar is “too long and intense”, with many citing physical and mental burnout towards the end of last season.

“As we look to the future, it is clear that we need to continue working to improve the whole of the sport,” Jevans said in her opening address. “We’re not just talking about incremental changes around the edges, but major improvements that address governance, strengthen the calendar, and lengthen the off-season. That’s to serve both the players and the fans and respond to player concerns about burnout and the number of tournaments that they play.

“However, no single organization can deliver those improvements alone, and Wimbledon cannot do this in isolation. A step to achieve this is a channel for dialogue with the players, and this will give them and us the opportunity for deeper relationships and a stronger shared understanding of the responsibilities that we all share.”

Wimbledon’s outgoing chief executive Sally Bolton revealed one of their proposals to the players has been the formation of Wimbledon or grand slam player council. Jevans added: “We’ve encouraged them to form with us a player council, and then we can have that dialogue and that dialogue will include player compensation, pension, maternity cover, all of those things we would welcome. That offer is on the table.”

One of the other demands put across by the top stars has been to compensate lower-ranked players who are outside the world’s top 100 and can struggle to make a living from the sport. In increasing Wimbledon’s qualifying prize money to £6.2m, the All England Club said women’s qualifying is now equivalent to some WTA 1000 events, the top level of the women’s tour. Additionally, players who exit in the first round of the tournament will receive a record £80,000. Players who lose in the third round of qualifying will receive £50,000.