Wimbledon announces record 20% prize money rise as Grand Slam pay dispute persists

Record prize fund

Wimbledon’s total prize money for the 2026 Championships will reach £64.2 million ($85.74 million), a 20 percent increase on 2025, the largest single-year rise in the tournament’s history. Singles champions will each collect £3.6 million, up £600,000, while runners-up receive £1.8 million. First-round losers, who collectively will share more than £5 million, get £80,000 compared with last year’s £66,000. The qualifying draw purse is being boosted by 25 percent to £6.2 million. Based on the club’s 2025 revenue of £423.6 million, the new prize fund amounts to 15.1 percent, up from 13 percent a year ago.

This announcement recognises the success of The Championships, and that we operate a sustainable programme that allows us not only to increase prize money, but also to invest in facilities, the grass court season and support British and international tennis.

Player demands and protest

The increase comes amid an escalating push by elite players for a greater share of Grand Slam revenues. A group led by top-10 ATP and WTA stars wants the four majors to allocate 22 percent of tournament income to prize money, matching the share at lower-tier tour events. As a first step, they sought 16 percent at Wimbledon, which would have meant a prize fund of roughly £70 million. Earlier this year, the player group was angered by the French Open’s 9.5 percent prize money increase and its continuation at around 15 percent of projected revenues. In response, several players limited their media obligations at Roland Garros to 15 minutes per session. Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s world No. 1, warned of possible future Grand Slam boycotts. Representatives of the player group, including executive Larry Scott, met with All England Club officials during the French Open to press their case, but a compromise was not reached ahead of the Wimbledon announcement.

Wimbledon’s stance

All England Club chair Debbie Jevans rejected the principle of linking prize money directly to tournament revenue, insisting that Wimbledon’s not-for-profit model channels surplus earnings back into the sport. Last year the club recorded a profit of £52.7 million, distributing £48.1 million to the Lawn Tennis Association to support British tennis. Jevans said that over the past decade prize money had more than doubled, and the club also invests heavily in facilities maintenance, grass-court season development, and grassroots initiatives. She expressed frustration that the players had not absorbed this message, though she stressed that dialogue with their representatives was ongoing.

Using revenue to determine prize money, it makes no sense.

Broader Grand Slam landscape

With the Australian Open already past, attention shifts to the US Open, which is expected to announce its prize money shortly after Wimbledon. The United States Tennis Association offered $90 million last year and is forecast to surpass $100 million in 2026, a figure that could meet or exceed the 16 percent revenue benchmark. French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo mirrored Wimbledon’s position, arguing that revenue linkage oversimplifies the financial model and calling for goodwill and a change in mentality from all parties. The four Grand Slams continue to negotiate individually with the player group, whose willingness to stage media boycotts and threaten future boycotts suggests that the dispute is far from resolved.