Wimbledon prize pot increases to whopping R1.3 BILLION
Wimbledon prize money will increase by seven percent to a record pot of £53.5 million (R1.3 billion) for this year's championships as pressure grows from players for a greater slice of Grand Slam profits.
The winners of the men's and women's singles titles will each receive £3 million (R72.6 million), an increase of more than 11 percent on 2024, while a main draw spot is worth a minimum of £66 000 (R1.6 million), up 10 percent.
The All England Club's announcement comes after growing player demands for a bigger share of revenue from the four majors.
In April, 20 leading players sent a letter to the heads of the Grand Slams calling for greater contributions and discussions were held during the French Open.
All England Club chairwoman Debbie Jevans said at Wimbledon's pre-tournament media briefing on Thursday the club was 'absolutely committed to continuing our longstanding commitment to player compensation'.
'We're immensely proud of the fact that if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period (of 100 percent) and seven per cent this year,' she said.
'We have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players. Of course we will always listen and discuss with them but the focus on just the prize money at four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is with tennis.
'The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don't have an off-season, which they want, they have increasing injuries that they're speaking about and we've always said that we as Wimbledon are willing to engage and talk with the tours to try and find solutions and that door remains open.
'As yet, there hasn't been any proposal to us as to how the tour is able to change its structure.
'There's a bigger picture here but, as a tennis player, they're always going to, I think, ask for more money.'
In a major change at Wimbledon this year, line judges are being replaced by a live electronic calling system.
The All England club follows the Australian Open and the US Open in implementing the change, though the French Open still uses human officials.
Around 80 former officials will be employed this year as match assistants, with two on each court offering support to the umpire, while they will also provide back-up should the electronic system fail.
Wimbledon runs from June 30 to July 13, with Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova the defending champions.
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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
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