Wimbledon offering record prize money total at full-capacity tournament

LONDON (AP) — Wimbledon will offer a record total of 40.3 million pounds ($50.5 million) in player compensation, but the singles champions will receive less than the pre-pandemic amount.

The prize money excluding per diems totals a record 38.9 million pounds ($48.8 million), the All England Club announced Thursday. The men's and women's singles winners will each earn 2 million pounds ($2.5 million), which is 14.9% less than in 2019.

The overall prize money is an 11% increase over last year, when crowd capacity was reduced because of coronavirus restrictions, and a 5.4% increase over 2019.

The oldest Grand Slam tournament begins June 27 and organizers highlighted plans for the grass-court competition to be at full capacity for the first time in three years.

Though below the 2019 amount, the prize money for the men's and women's singles winners is a 17.6% increase from last year, when Novak Djokovic and Ash Barty won their respective titles. The 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizers said the distribution this year "continues to place importance on supporting players in the early rounds of the event." Singles players in the first round will be competing for 50,000 pounds ($62,700), which is 11% higher than in 2019.

Prize money in the wheelchair and quad wheelchair events is up 40% over 2019.

"From the first round of the qualifying competition to the champions being crowned," said Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, "this year’s prize money distribution aims to reflect just how important the players are to The Championships as we look to continue to deliver one of the world's leading sporting events, and with a particularly special tournament ahead of us as we celebrate 100 years of Centre Court on Church Road."

The All England Club has barred players from Russia and Belarus from Wimbledon this year because of the invasion of Ukraine. In response, the women's and men's professional tours announced they will not award ranking points for Wimbledon this year.

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