The All England Club has insisted that it has listened to the complaints of leading tennis players regarding prize money compensation but it believes the solution to player issues lies in greater changes to the structure of the sport.
The prize money fund for the 2025WimbledonChampionships, which begins on 30 June, will rise to £53.5m, a 7% increase on last year’s prize money and double the amount awarded in 2015. The men’s and women’s champions will receive £3m at this year’s edition, while players who lose in the first round will earn £66,000.
“If you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year,” said Debbie Jevans, the Chair of the All England Club, speaking at Wimbledon’s annual pre-event media briefing. We have listened to the players. We have engaged with the players.”
Earlier this year, the vast majority of the top 20 men’s and women’s players sent a letter to the grand slam tournaments requesting an increase in prize money and arguing that they should be entitled to a greater share of the significant revenues generated by the slams.
“Sally [Bolton, the AELTC chief executive] had a meeting in Paris, as did I, with a number of them. What I think is important, which of course has been discussed with them, the focus on just the prize money at the four events, ie grand slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is for tennis,” said Jevans. “The challenge with tennis is the fact that players don’t have an off-season, which they want, they have increasing injuries that they are speaking about. We have 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.”
According to Jevans, the players left their meetings with an understanding of the perspective of the All England Club: “I think as a player, having been one, I know you always look at what the prize money is,” said Jevans. “But when you sit down and have the time to talk to them and explain, they do understand that the opportunities that will flow if we’re able to change the whole structure of the calendar, there is a bigger picture out there.”
The Wimbledon organisers also defended the decision to move the men’s and women’s singles finals one hour later to 4pm despite the potential for a late finish in the men’s final. On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz’s sensational five-set win over Jannik Sinnerin the French Open finalon Sunday took five hours and 29 minutes.
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“As we thought about the reasons why we want to do it, it’s about ensuring an improved experience for all involved,” said Bolton. “Whether that’s the doubles finalists having greater certainty over their schedule, whether it’s the fans having the opportunity to experience a day which builds to the crescendo of the singles finals or ensuring that we have our champions crowned in front of the widest possible audience.”