Wimbledon losers’ prize-money boost

Total prize-money for this year’s Wimbledon tournament will reach $42 million, an increase of 10.8 percent that will mostly favour the early-round losers.

The All England Club said that the men’s and women’s singles champions will each receive $2.9 million, a 10 percent increase on last year’s top prize won by Andy Murray and Marion Bartoli.

By comparison, this year’s French Open champions will receive ($2.3 million) while Stanislas Wawrinka and Li Na earned $2.65 million for their wins at the Australian Open.

The main increases at Wimbledon are for the early losers, with players who fail to get past the third round receiving prize-money worth 12.5 percent more than in 2013.

“We’ve placed emphasis on the large group of players who need our help the most, those players who lose in qualifying and in the early rounds of the championships,” Wimbledon chairman Philip Brook said.

“We also had an eye to being competitive internationally, and we do keep our watch on what is going on in other tennis events and in particular the other Grand Slams.”

The grass-court Grand Slam will be played from June 23-July 6.

Players’ reward increased

In keeping with player demands for a larger slice of Grand Slam revenues, all four majors have greatly increased their prize-money in the past two years, with Wimbledon offering the biggest amount following a record 40 percent increase last year.

The French Open now offers $34.5 million while the US Open increased its purse to $34.3 million and the Australian Open went up to $31 million.

The Wimbledon prize-money for the majority of singles players who lose in the first three rounds of the grass-court tournament has been increased by more than 100 percent over a three-year period.

First-round losers will pocket the biggest difference, with each receiving $45,450, 14.9 percent more than last year.

There will also be an increase of 8.7 percent in prize money for doubles and a 6.1 percent increase for mixed doubles.

In all, an extra $4 million is up for grabs compared to last year.