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Wimbledon has decided not to offer ranking points, but instead reward with record prize money of 40.3 million pounds and host capacity crowd for the first time in the last three years at this year's tennis championship. The decision came on the back of Wimbledon's move to exclude players from Russia and Belarus because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special operation'.
The organisers confirmed on Thursday that men and women's singles champions will each receive £2 million. The total prize money of £40.35 million represents an 11.1 per cent increase on last year's Championships, where capacity at the southwest London venue was reduced seeing COVID-19 outbreak.
While making the announcement, Ian Hewitt, Chairman of the All England Club informed that the prize money has been opted to showcase how much the organisers value the players, and what is their importance.
"From the first round of qualifying matches to the reigning champions. This year’s prize money aims to reflect how important players are to The Championships," added Ian.
The total prize money last year was a little over 35 million pounds, with Novak Djokovic and Ash Barty pocketing 1.7 million pounds each after being crowned champions. As per the notification, players beaten in the first round of the singles will collect £50,000, while the runners-up in the summit clash will each take home more than £1 million.
However, former world number one Naomi Osaka earlier threatened to withdraw from this year's Wimbledon over the decision to strip the tournament off ranking points, but she is yet to confirm her decision.
This season's Wimbledon will start on June 27, with reigning champion Novak Djokovic aiming to defend his title following his exit from the quarter-final stage in French Open 2022. Meanwhile, women's reigning champion Australia's Ashleigh Barty retired in March and hence, we will witness a new champion in the women's category.