New record in the turf Mecca: This year a total of £34 million in prize money will be paid out at the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon (2 to 15 July). That is the equivalent of around 38.65 million euros. The increase of 7.5 percent compared to the previous year was announced by the organizers in London on Tuesday. In the last ten years, the premiums on Church Road have thus almost tripled.
The winners of the men’s and women’s tournaments in the Grass Cathedral of Tennis will each receive 2.25 million pounds (2.56 million euros). For years, the prize money for the four Grand Slams has been increasing. Craig Tiley, tournament director of the Australian Open, announced in January that he wanted to break the sound barrier of 100 million dollars over the next five years.
Only recently it was announced that a total of 39.197 million euros will be distributed at the upcoming French Open in Paris (27 May to 10 June). By comparison, five years ago the traditional clay court major at Stade Roland Garros awarded a prize of 22 million euros to the professionals.
So far, the US Open 2017 has held the record with the equivalent of around 43.30 million euros in premiums. The explosive development also becomes clear when you consider that Steffi Graf, despite her 22 Grand Slam titles among others, has “only” received the equivalent of around 17.728 million euros in prize money in her career.
Angelique Kerber, Australian and US Open Champion of 2016, has already reached around 18.904 million euros. Serena Williams (69.852 million euros) and Roger Federer (96.045 million euros) are the women’s winners.