30 Apr 2014

Wimbledon bumps up prize fund again

5:43 am on 30 April 2014

The All England tennis club has announced a 25-million pounds increase for this year's Wimbledon prize pot, with an increase of just under 15 percent for first round losers in the main draw of the men's and women's singles.

The All England Club's chief executive Richard Lewis has justified the increased prize money for early-round losers

who, he says, work hard for 12 months to qualify for the main draw either through their world ranking or via the qualifying tournament.

This year's men's and womens singles champions will bank 1.76 million pounds, a 10 percent increase on last year.

Since 2011 Wimbledon's annual prize money increases have been heavily weighted towards earlier round losers - a move designed to placate lower-ranked players who struggle to balance the books compared with the elite players.

This year's increase means first-round prize money has risen by a massive 135 percent in three years.