After the cancellation of last year’s event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wimbledon is returning to the calendar with a 5.2% reduction in prize money, while the singles champions will see the biggest hit to their checks.
Wimbledon 2021 offers a total of approximately $49.4 million to players, which is 5.2% less than in 2019 when the tournament was last held.
A number of factors impacted this reduction: constraints on crowd capacity, investment required to provide quality accommodation with a full range of services in order to create a Minimized Risk Environment, and a comprehensive testing program for players and their support teams.
Even though the funds have decreased, not everyone will be hit equally and the majority of players will actually be in a better position this year.
Singles semifinalists and finalists will be heavily affected. The singles champions will earn $2.4 million, while in 2019 they received $3.3 million. However, players in early rounds will benefit from a new distribution of funds. Qualifiers will see a 17.5% increase, main-draw singles players in the opening rounds will earn more than before, including a 6.7% increase in first-round prize money, while the wheelchair and quad wheelchair events will get a 17% boost.
Here you can see full prize money distribution and the comparison between 2019 and 2021.
Good news is that the men’s and women’s singles finals will be played with full crowds of 15,000 in attendance on Centre Court. The bad side of the story is that visitors will have to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination (both first and second dose) or a negative lateral flow test within 48 hours of attending.
Good decision. The tops players are earning millions. They can do without a little bit of it.
CLT, it’s bad that they had to decrease the prize money, but it’s good that they listened to players and did the redistribution of funds.