Wimbledon first-round losers to pocket £66,000

Telegraph

20 hours ago

First-round losers at this year's Wimbledon Championships will receive £66,000, a 10 per cent increase from last year's figure.
These sizeable sums are also payable to the 16 singles players – mainly Britons – who receive wildcard invitations from the All England Club, even though their rankings are not high enough to earn direct entry to the draw.
Despite the apparently generous nature of Wimbledon's prize money – which has doubled over the last 10 years so that this year's men's and women's champions will receive £3 million each – player remuneration has been a focus of locker-room discontent recently.
Not only did the Professional Tennis Players' Association bring a multi-national lawsuit against the way the tours operate in March, but a group of top-20 players then wrote a letter to the slams asking for improved pay and perks.
'Players always ask for more money'
At Thursday's annual Wimbledon press conference, chair Debbie Jevans told reporters that 'Once you sit down and have the time to explain to them [the players], they do understand that the opportunities will flow if we are able to change the whole structure of the sport by way of the calendar.'
'There is a bigger picture,' Jevans added. 'But as a tennis player they are always going to ask for more money.'
The players argue that the slams pay around 15 per cent of their revenues out in prize money and contrast that unfavourably with franchise sport in the USA, where player remuneration normally stands at around 50 per cent.
The slams reply that they are constantly upgrading their facilities to make themselves more attractive to spectators, although the fact that the All England Club also pays out almost £50 million to the Lawn Tennis Association every year tends to raise eyebrows among the player base.
Three weeks ago in Paris, there was a meeting between six members of the top 20 and representatives of the four slams, where world No 1 Jannik Sinner is understood to have been one of the most vocal parties.
It is also understood, however, that some members of the top 20 have privately disassociated themselves from this pressure campaign.
When asked about the pay complaints on Friday, Jevans pointed reporters to the men's and women's tours – the ATP and the WTA – which operate independently of the four slams. If you work out the figures, the slams contribute more than 30 per cent of players' annual income, whereas in golf, the four majors deliver only around half that.
Her contention, then, is that the tours are the ones who are underperforming. And she also alluded to the fact that the tours declined to show any interest in slam-led proposals for a streamlined 'Premium Tour' when it was proposed 18 months ago.
Wimbledon expansion
In terms of site development, the All England Club continue to pursue their planned expansion into adjoining Wimbledon Park Golf Course, in the face of staunch opposition from the Save Wimbledon Park pressure group.
After planning permission was granted by the London Mayor's office in September, a judicial review is due to take place in the middle of this year's Championships. There will also be a court case in January to decide whether – as metropolitan open land – the golf course should be exempt from development.
As and when the green light is finally given in earnest, it will take five or six years for the new grass courts to bed in before they can be used in competitive play.