Nearly three weeks after some of tennis’ biggest stars staged a symbolic media protest at the French Open over what they believed was a disproportionate amount of Grand Slam revenue, the next major tournament, Wimbledon, announced it would increase prize money by 20% for the 2026 tournament.
Wimbledon, famously held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, will award $4.8 million in prize money to each singles champion this year. The total prize pool will be $85.8 million, the grass court tournament said in a news release Thursday, “the largest annual increase in tournament history.”
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However, as reported by The Athletic, the total prize money still falls short of the percentage of earnings that several tennis players seek at Grand Slams. Players want their income to account for 22% of prize money at Grand Slam tournaments, about the same amount they earn at joint ATP and WTA Tour events.
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However, the $85.8 million Wimbledon is allocating to players this year is reportedly only 15.1% of the tournament’s revenue in 2025. For reference, last year’s total prize money was $72.7 million, which accounted for 13% of Wimbledon’s revenue in 2024, according to The Athletic.
So while both prize money and revenue sharing have increased at the majors, the latter still doesn’t get the share players want at the Grand Slams.
“I hope the players will welcome it. It’s a significant amount,” All England Club president Deborah Jevans said at a press conference, according to the Associated Press.
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“We have proven that we have considered every round, including qualifying, and we hope the players realize what a significant increase this is.”
According to the tournament, players who lose in the first round at this year’s Wimbledon will earn a 21% increase to $107,000, while prize money for qualifying rounds will also be increased by 25%.
Players’ media protest at Roland Garros saw high-profile players including Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Iga Swientek appear for just 15 minutes at the traditional pre-tournament media day at Roland Garros. The Guardian previously reported that those 15 minutes amount to 15% of the average Grand Slam tournament revenue for prize money.
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However, the protests reportedly did not spill over into the Paris tournament due to encouraging talks between player representative Larry Scott (former ATP Tour player and former WTA chief executive), player agent groups and French Tennis Federation officials.
As the tournament progressed at Roland Garros, additional meetings were held, including one with Jevans, who informed him through Scott that the players were aiming for a $95 million pot at this year’s Wimbledon, according to the Associated Press.
However, it is important to note that Wimbledon has a profit-sharing agreement with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). The LTA is the governing body for tennis and padel in the UK and is working to increase participation in the sport, court refurbishment and player development, as well as piloting other grass court tournaments. 90% of Wimbledon’s annual budget surplus is donated.
“It makes no sense to use the proceeds to determine prize money,” Jevans said Thursday, according to The Athletic.
“We told Larry Scott that. The revenue doesn’t take into account the investment that we give. And as I said, we’re not for profit. It’s very different from the 1000 (Grand Slam level and below). It all goes back to the sport, and it’s frustrating that that message isn’t getting through.”
Per The Athletic, Jevans continued: “But we’re in constant dialogue with Larry on this and we hope that message gets the players to understand the investment in the game. That’s really important, so that we can be sustainable and continue to be that way in the future. That’s a conversation that we welcome and that’s why we encouraged them to form a players council.”
“Then we can have that conversation. And in that conversation, when you think about player pay, pensions, maternity benefits, all of those things, we would welcome the opportunity to sit down and talk to them about that. And that offer is on the table.”
