Wimbledon kitty bulges for the stars
First-round quitters will forfeit their match fees
London – Wimbledon announced a hefty prize-pot hike yesterday, along with a new sustainability project aimed at ensuring it is not just the grass courts that remain green at the All England Club. Organisers of the oldest Grand Slam tournament revealed a prize fund of £34-million (R580-million) for the 2018 championships, up 7.6% from last year. That figure includes awards of £2.25-million each for the men’s and women’s champions – an increase on the £2.2-million Roger Federer and Garbine Muguruza received last year.
Organisers also issued a warning that players who compete while knowingly carrying an injury, and quit mid-match, face being docked all their first-round prize money. The move is aimed at preventing a repeat of the rash of retirements in early action last year.
“In the wake of first-round withdrawals we pledged to act on it, and we have done so,” Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis told reporters.
“We were very influential in the creation and adoption of the 50-50 rule and hope the introduction of it will play a significant role in mitigating the problems of first-round singles retirements.”
Under the new rule, if an injured player withdraws after midday on the Thursday before the Championships, they will receive 50% of the first-round prize money.
The replacement “lucky-loser” will get the other 50%. Wimbledon’s 2018 prize money eclipses the 55-million Australian dollars paid out at January’s first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, but at current exchange rates is just shy of the ß39.2-million on offer at the French Open starting later this month.
Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam event to be played on grass, will take place from July 2 to 15. –