ATP and WTA stars respond as Wimbledon’s prize money increase falls short of their demands
Wimbledon has reacted to players’ complaints about prize money distribution by announcing a purse of £64.2m for this year’s Grand Slam.
That’s a rapid increase £10.7m rise from the 2025 event, with the men’s and women’s singles winners pocketing £3.6m for winning the event and first round losers earning £80,000.
However, the revenue share comes in at 14.4% for Wimbledon this year, which is below the 16% the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner have been calling for.
Despite the continued disparity in revenue share, the players’ group, which has lobbied for boycotts in recent months, are moderately happy with the move from Wimbledon.
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In a statement from the player group, published by The Guardian, they wrote: “Leading players from the ATP and WTA Tours welcome Wimbledon’s 2026 prize money announcement as a genuine and significant step forward – the 20% increase is the largest single-year uplift in the tournament’s history and a meaningful signal of intent.
“Players want to see Wimbledon continue to thrive and support the investment the tournament makes in the game. The question has never been whether those investments are valuable, but whether the athletes whose performances drive the event’s global success should receive a fair share of its tremendous financial growth.
“Our goal is not to diminish that success, it is to ensure that its continued growth benefits equitably everyone who contributes to it.”
Wimbledon tournament director Jamie Baker said he was ‘frustrated’ by the boycott debate, but they Grand Slam has largely dealt with the situation well.
While there is still clearly discontent amongst the players, the mood is rapidly better than when it was approaching Roland Garros in Paris – and for good reason.
Players threatened a boycott for the Paris event and eventually decided to boycott their media opportunities. All the players walked out of the post-match press conference at the 15-minute mark in solidarity of prize money distribution.
It is far better at Wimbledon this year, compared to Roland Garros.
The winner of Wimbledon will pocket over a million pounds more than they did at Roland Garros, with Mirra Andreeva and Alexander Zverev earning £2,417,618.
Additionally, the first round losers of Wimbledon will earn around £5000 more than they did at Roland Garros, so it’s overall a better deal for the players on the grass.
With several lower-ranked British stars likely to receive wildcards for the Grand Slam, that money could be instrumental for the rest of their seasons.
Sabalenka and co. and argued the boycott is more for the lower-ranked players than the top 10, so this is a very good step in the right direction for them.