2012 Wimbledon Championships Sees Record Profit

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have announced the 2012 Wimbledon Championships achieved a record profit of £37.753million.

This marks a seven per cent rise from last year’s margin of £35.174m, which is invested back into British tennis through the LTA.

The LTA annual report confirmed the success, which showed an increase of combined income from the LTA and the Tennis Foundation stood at £65.634m up from £63.153m the previous year.

Their combined expenditure stood at £66.533m, with £12.3m spent on the development of existing talent and £17.4m on encouraging participation levels through a range of projects.

Alongside increasing profits, participation levels have also been on the up with a Sport England survey showing an 11 per cent rise to 417,700 in the 16-plus age group, with the LTA also claiming growth from 51,900 to 58,400 in the number of juniors competing.

In a joint statement, LTA president Peter Bretherton and chief executive Roger Draper underlined the importance of world-class success in strengthening the sport at its grass roots level.

“When will we see such a collection of world class tournaments in one country again, from the AEGON Championships, through The Championships, Wimbledon, to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals?

“Special mention must go to Andy Murray for his Olympic singles gold medal, and of course, for his grand slam singles triumph at the US Open – the first by a British male player in 76 years.

“His success is born out of hard work and determination, and he is an inspiring role model for youngsters in tennis and across British sport.

“We’ve also seen notable performances from Jonny Marray, the first British Wimbledon men’s doubles champion for 76 years, and further Olympic and Paralympic medals from Laura Robson, Lucy Shuker, Jordanne Whiley, Peter Norfolk and Andy Lapthorne. These inspiring results and events have led to a growth in interest in our sport.”

They added: “We’ve also been working with the Tennis Foundation (TF) to attract people from all ages, abilities and communities, by making tennis a more accessible and inclusive sport, as well as emphasising that it is a fun and affordable family sport, with fair play at the heart of all our competitions.”