Wimbledon is one of the biggest tennis tournaments – if not the biggest – and very often tennis fans wonder what is the prize money associated with it. This competition has multiple competitions played over a period of the two weeks and if you are looking for the latest Wimbledon prize for the next edition of the competition, we have it all listed below.
Please Note: You can also check the prize money details for Australian Open here, French Open here, and US Open here.
The Wimbledon, also known as the Championships, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, South London since 1877. It has also been called SW19 since that is the postcode of the Wimbledon area.
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When did Wimbledon First Award Players any Prize Money?
The Wimbledon started awarding prize money from 1968 onward. This was the first edition of Wimbledon under the Open era, which meant the professionals were allowed to compete in the competition alongside amateurs.
How much did Wimbledon Winners Earn in 1968?
In the first edition of Wimbledon when it was held under the open era, the prize money on offer was £26,150. This was divided among the participating players with the men’s singles winner earning £2,000 and the women’s singles winner getting just £750.
Issues with the Wimbledon Prize Money
Over the years, men and women’s champions weren’t awarded the same prize money. This has changed more recently though.
One other issue was to do with the prize money earned by the lower-ranked players and early losers, who weren’t earning enough to make a proper sustenance out of the sport.
Measures have been taken to address this problem too in recent times although the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 revealed the difficulties the lower-ranked players have had to face because of the cancellation of the tournaments.
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When did Wimbledon Start Giving Equal Prize Money to Both Men’s and Women’s Champions?
From 2007 onward, it started giving an equal prize to both the men’s as well as women’s champions. It was the last Grand Slam to award both, men’s and women’s singles winners the same prize money.
Early Round Loser Prize Money Problems
Over the last few years, greater attention has been paid to the prize money for those losing out in the earlier rounds due to growing financial concerns for those players.
This resulted in a great jump in the prize money for those losing out in the earlier rounds than for the winners – the 2013 Wimbledon competition saw an overall jump in prize money of about 40% and more than 60% for those not making the latter draw.
Similarly the 2017 Wimbledon saw a revenue increase of 16.7% for first round losers as compared to the previous year while the winner got a 10% hike.
Even though it was the last grand slam to end the unequal prize money, they also announced that the prize money for players in all singles rounds would be similar. They announced it one month before the French Open.
The prize money for winners of the singles category was second highest amongst all the Grand Slams until the most recent Australian Open where the prize purse was increased by 13.6%.
Increase in its singles winners’ prize meant that Wimbledon became the third-highest paying Grand Slam for its winners. But this was considering the numbers of the 2020 Australian Open & the 2019 Wimbledon.
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Prize Money for 2021 Wimbledon
Because of the issues related to Covid-19, the prize money for 2021 Wimbledon decreased by nearly 8%. A total prize money of £35,016,000 was announced with the winners of the singles tournament earning £1,700,000 apiece.
How much do Players at Wimbledon Earn?
Players are awarded prize money based on which round they make and the event they participate in. As mentioned earlier, there are multiple events held at Wimbledon and each of them have a different payment structure but the farther a player goes in a tournament, the greater he/she earns. Here’s more information.
How much do Wimbledon singles players earn?
Players losing in the first singles qualifying round at Wimbledon are paid £8,500 while those making it to the main draw and losing their first round match get paid £48,000. The winner and runner-up of the singles events are awarded £1.7 million and £900,000 respectively.
| Men's & Women's Singles (2021) | Prize Money GBP |
|---|---|
| Q1 | 8500 |
| Q2 | 15,500 |
| Q3 | 25,500 |
| Round 1 | 48,000 |
| Round 2 | 75,000 |
| Round 3 | 115,000 |
| Round 4 | 181,000 |
| Quarter-Final | 300,000 |
| Semi-Final | 465,000 |
| Runner Up | 900,000 |
| Winner | 1,700,000 |
Apart from the singles events, the Wimbledon also hosts doubles categories for both men’s and women’s as well as a mixed doubles events. For all the doubles categories’ champions, the prize money from Wimbledon is the second highest only to the US Open.
How much do Wimbledon doubles players earn?
First round losing teams at the Wimbledon doubles are paid £12000, while the winner and runner-up of the men’s and women’s doubles events earn £480,000 and £240,000 respectively. Mixed doubles teams earn £100,000 for winning the competition.
| Men's & Women's Doubles (Per Team) | Prize Money GBP |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | 12,000 |
| Round 2 | 19,000 |
| Round 3 | 30,000 |
| Quarter-Final | 60,000 |
| Semi-Final | 120,000 |
| Runner Up | 240,000 |
| Winner | 480,000 |
There is obviously the mixed doubles category at Wimbledon too. As mentioned earlier, the winning team for this event earns £100,000, to be divided among the two players, while round one losers gain £1,500.
| Mixed Doubles (Per Team) | Prize Money GBP |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | 1,500 |
| Round 2 | 3,000 |
| Round 3 | 6,000 |
| Quarter-Final | 12,000 |
| Semi-Final | 25,000 |
| Runner Up | 50,000 |
| Winner | 100,000 |
From 2005 onwards, the Wimbledon introduced a doubles category in wheelchair tennis and introduced singles ten years later.
From 2019 onwards, it started an invitational quad wheelchair tennis category as well. The main difference between wheelchair tennis and quad wheelchair tennis is that players in the former category only has a disability in one or both of their legs whereas, in the later, players also have a disability in one of their arms.
| Wheelchair Singles | Prize Money GBP | Prize Money USD |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | N/A | N/A |
| Round 2 | N/A | N/A |
| Quarter-Final | 10,000 | 12,697 |
| Semi-Final | 15,000 | 19,045 |
| Runner Up | 23,000 | 29,203 |
| Winner | 46,000 | 58,405 |
Prize money for the wheelchair singles competition at Wimbledon has been updated below too.
| Wheelchair Doubles (Per Team) | Prize Money GBP | Prize Money USD |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | N/A | N/A |
| Round 2 | N/A | N/A |
| Quarter-Final | N/A | N/A |
| Semi-Final | 5,000 | 6,348 |
| Runner Up | 9,000 | 11,427 |
| Winner | 18,000 | 22,854 |
Prize Money for 2020 Wimbledon
The 2020 edition of the Wimbledon was set to have another 10% increase in its total prize money to take the figure to over $55 million. The men’s and women’s singles winners would have taken home over $3 million. But due to the COVID-19, the tournament was cancelled.
This was also the first time that the tournament was cancelled since the second World War.
The organisers for the Wimbledon have had an insurance cover for the tournament and they were paying close to $2 million a year for the last 17 years. As a result of the cancellation, they are likely to receive close to approximately $150 million from their insurance cover.
The organisers are considering a proposal to pay some of the players who would have played in the early rounds of the Wimbledon as this would have been one of the biggest pay-checks they would have received this year.
