Wimbledon Reveals Major Prize-Money Hike & Plans for Retractable Roof
April 23, 2013
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) have announced a major hike in prize-money for the 2013 tournament while also revealing plans for a retractable roof for Court One.
Players will receive a total of £22.6m, at this year’s event, up £6.5m on last year (an increase of 40%), with the men’s and women’s singles winners receiving £1.6m each.
The roof for Court One is expected to be ready for the 2019 Championships.
The Centre Court roof has been in use since 2009 meaning 26,500 covered seats will be available across the courts.
The men’s and ladies’ singles prizes were made the same amount in 2007 and will rise £450,000 from the £1.15m awarded to 2012 champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
The 88% of singles players who lose in the first three rounds at Wimbledon will receive a rise of over 60% this year, taking the increase in prize money for these players to around 90% over a two-year period.
There is also a 41% increase in prize money for qualifying bringing the two-year increase for that category to 71%.
Philip Brook, Chairman of the All England Club and The Championships, said: “I would like to thank all those whose contribution to Wimbledon’s success both on and off court has today enabled us to announce these significant levels of investment in The Championships.
“For the players, it is a deep appreciation of the demanding nature of professional tennis and the top-quality entertainment they bring, while for The Championships it is about giving all our visitors the finest stage on which to enjoy Wimbledon.”
This follows the Australian Open announcing at the end of lasy year that they had increased their prize-money While the French Open’s prize-money wen’t up 16 per cent recently.
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