Wimbledon champions will win £2m each as prize money goes up

Wimbledon have announced an increase in prize money, meaning this year's men's and women's singles champions will each receive £2 million.
Total prize money at this year's Wimbledon will be £28.1m. Picture: Anthony Devlin/PATotal prize money at this year's Wimbledon will be £28.1m. Picture: Anthony Devlin/PA
Total prize money at this year's Wimbledon will be £28.1m. Picture: Anthony Devlin/PA

The All England Club announced on Tuesday that the total prize fund is going up to £28.1m for the grass-court championships, an overall rise of five per cent.

The prize for the singles champions has been raised by 6.4 per cent, or £120,000, to £2m. Last year, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams each collected £1.88m.

First-round losers, meanwhile, will receive £30,000.

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Over the past five years, total prize money at Wimbledon has nearly doubled, going up by 92 per cent. The highest increase was in 2013, when the prize fund went up by 40 per cent.

The 130th edition of the tournament will be played at the All England Club from June 27-July 10.

Wimbledon also announced increased funding to combat match-fixing and doping, though no specific figures were given.

Chief executive Richard Lewis said extra funds would be allocated for analysis of betting patterns to detect any suspicious activity.

The issue of match-fixing came to the forefront during the Australian Open in January when the BBC and BuzzFeed alleged that tennis authorities suppressed evidence and failed to thoroughly investigate possible fixing involving 16 players. That led tennis’ governing bodies to launch an independent review of the sport’s anti-corruption group, the Tennis Integrity Unit.

Lewis said Wimbledon would also spend more on drug-testing. The sport is currently dealing with a high-profile case involving Maria Sharapova, who tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.