Weak pound forces Wimbledon to up prize money
Wimbledon will announce a steep rise in prize money for this year’s champions as the tournament seeks to counter the pound’s fall in value following the Brexit vote, reports suggest.
In 2016, champions Andy Murray and Serena Williams each took home £2m, from a total pot of £28m. This was a 6.4% rise on 2015’s prize money. But this year the increase could be significantly larger as the All England Club aims to compensate for the falling pound, The Times reported.
The amounts are expected to be announced on Wednesday, and prize money would have to be £2.25m to maintain its dollar value compared to previous years.
Last year’s tournament took place weeks after the referendum’s shock result , which sent the pound tumbling against the dollar. By the time Andy Murray lifted the trophy on Centre Court on 10 July, £1 was worth $1.29, down from $1.48 on 23 June — before the referendum’s result was announced. This means his £2m prize was worth $2.6m which is $380,000 less than it would have been on the eve of the referendum.
The pound is currently at its post-referendum level again.
The All England Club would have to announce a significant which in 2016 gave $3.5m (currently £2.7m) apiece to its singles champions. This year the Australian Open offered AUD$3.7M (US $2.8m), which at current sterling values (£2.2m) would push Wimbledon’s top prizes into third place among the Grand Slam rankings. The French Open’s top prize is €2.1m (£1.8m).
In 2017 both the Australian and French Opens made significant increases in their total prize pots, with the Melbourne tournament announcing a 14% rise, with much of the increase going to those bumped out in early rounds , and the Paris tournament’s fund rising by 12% .
KVITOVA BACK AFTER HAND INJURY
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova returned to the tennis court on Tuesday, more than four months after her left hand was badly injured in a knife attack.
The 27-year-old Czech posted a picture of herself hitting a ball on a practice court in Monaco on her Facebook account.
“Hello guys, I hope this picture makes you as happy as it makes me!” wrote the Wimbledon champion from 2011 and 2014.
“I am in Monaco and guess what? I’m back on the tennis court, hitting with some proper balls.”
Kvitova suffered injuries to her playing hand as she fought off a knife-wielding intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town