Players warned their fooling days are about to end

WIMBLEDON officials warned players yesterday they face losing prize-money if they withdraw after competing with an existing injury and are not perceived to have given maximum effort.

The All England Club will introduce the “50:50” rule at this year’s Wimbledon in an attempt to prevent injury withdrawals in the opening round of the men’s and women’s singles events.

Several players were widely criticised last year when they played in first-round matches at Wimbledon, despite being clearly unfit, in order to claim the prizemoney for losing at that stage.

There were a total of seven midmatch withdrawals in the 2017 tournament.

With an increased purse of £39 000 (R672 361) on offer to firstround losers this year, tournament chiefs are keen to clamp down on the issue.

Players will now be able to claim 50% of their first-round prize-money if they withdraw on site by the Thursday before the start of the main draw.

An injured player’s replacement would take the other 50% of the prize-money.

But anyone who competes in the first round and “retires or performs below professional standards” could now be fined their entire prize pot.

“In the wake of first-round withdrawals we pledged to act on it, and we have done so,” said Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis.

The 2018 men’s and women’s singles champions will receive £2.25-million (R38.77-million), a small increase of £50 000 (R861 622) on last year.

Roger Federer and Garbine Muguruza won the men’s and women’s titles in 2017.

Lower-ranked players at Wimbledon will enjoy an increase of 10% across qualifying and the first to fourth rounds of the singles, boosting the overall prizemoney total to £34-million (R585.9-million) this year.

The haul is larger than the Australian Open’s £31-million (R534.2-million), but slightly less than the £34.5-million (R594.5-million) available at this year’s French Open. The US Open is yet to announce this year’s prizemoney. Wimbledon starts July 2.

Wimbledon bosses offered more clarity on the idea of coaching from the sidelines, which is currently banned at the tournament.

“Tennis is a gladiatorial sport. You are on your own. We totally disagree with it,” said Lewis.

In a bid to speed up match times, the tournament will enforce a seven-minute gap between players walking on court and the start of play. They are also unhappy about the amount of time being wasted by toilet breaks and on-court visits from tour physios. “It is a concern. It’s not easy to deal with. We have had discussions with people on the medical side,” said Lewis.

Keen to stay environmentally friendly, Wimbledon said no plastic straws will be used at this year’s tournament as part of its sustainability ethos. Last year more than 400 000 plastic straws were used at the southwest London venue.