Early Round Exiters at Wimbledon to Earn More in 2012

By Erik Gudris

(April 24th, 2012) Not to be outdone by other events, organizers of the biggest tennis tournament in the world announced they would increase their prize money by a significant amount for this year, especially for those players who exit in the early rounds.

The All England Club, Wimbledon, announced its 2012 prize money payouts with a significant percentage raise going to those players who take part in qualifying and for those who exit in the first round in both the Gentlemen's and Ladies' singles draws. First round losers will earn £14,500 for 2012, a 26.1% increase from 2011 while those who compete in qualifying will see a 21.4% increase in what they earned last year.

The men and women's singles champions will each receive a total prize check of £1,150,000, a modest 4.5% increase from 2011.

The larger increases for players who lose in the early rounds rather than for those who reach the final stages was acknowledged by Wimbledon as recognition of the growing costs for professional players. The move also comes at a time when many lower ranked players, especially within the ATP Tour, have continued to complain about the small percentage of overall revenue they receive from the four Majors.

Those competing in the Gentlemen's and Ladies' Doubles events will receive an average 4% increase in prize money across the board while the prize money for the Mixed Doubles event remains unchanged from 2011.

A more complete breakdown of the prize money at Wimbledon can be found here.