Prize cash ultimately 12 months’s Wimbledon was £50m, precisely double the quantity provided in 2014. In that 10-year interval, prize cash for first-round losers elevated from £27,000 to £60,000.
However gamers have continuously pointed to the huge revenues generated by the Grand Slams, and really feel they deserve a considerably bigger return.
Within the 12 months as much as July 2023, the All England Membership (AELTC) had a turnover of £380m. However as soon as the prices of operating the Championships have been deducted, the working revenue was just below £54m.
Practically £49m of that went to the LTA, because the AELTC has agreed to pay the governing physique 90% of its annual surplus till 2053.
Prices embrace prize cash, using greater than 8,000 seasonal workers, getting ready and creating the positioning and supporting different grass court docket occasions.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen mentioned elevated prize cash can be significantly welcomed by lower-ranked gamers, who can wrestle to make ends meet at different occasions of the 12 months.
“I feel that is going to profit all of the gamers, not solely the highest gamers, particularly people who work onerous in the course of the 12 months and must receives a commission from the Grand Slams and need to survive,” added the Chinese language world quantity eight.
“We attempt to do what we will, after which let’s examine what the gods convey to us. However a minimum of we’re making an attempt.”
It comes little greater than two weeks after the Skilled Tennis Gamers’ Affiliation (PTPA) launched legal action against tennis’ governing bodies, citing “anti-competitive practices and a blatant disregard for participant welfare”.
The lawsuit by the gamers’ group, which was co-founded by Novak Djokovic, seeks an finish to what it describes as “monopolistic management” of the tennis tour, in addition to monetary compensation from the ATP, the WTA, the Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Worldwide Tennis Integrity Company (ITIA).
