Wimbledon Championships – Prize Money Breakdown
Many people believe that The Championships, Wimbledon is the top tournament in all of tennis. Played on grass courts, it takes place every June and July in London, England. With all the prestige a player gains from taking home the trophy, the payday might be a shocker to some.
How much prize money goes to singles winners at Wimbledon in 2021? The Ladies’ and Gentleman’s winners will win £2.39 million each. Since 2007, Wimbledon has awarded equal prize money for both genders across all tournaments. The total prize money has gone up each year by at least some percentage since 1987.
Wimbledon – Total Prize Money
The total amount of prize money that were involved in the Wimbledon Championships 2021 was €35 million. Here is a breakdown of how much prize money that are involved in each event.
| Wimbledon (2021) | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| Singles | €28.5M |
| Doubles | €4.58M |
| Mixed Doubles | €430K |
| Wheelchair Singles | €278K |
| Wheelchair Doubles | €74K |
| Quad Wheelchair Singles | €68K |
| Quad Wheelchair Doubles | €21K |
The Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s singles tournament is the most popular with fans, and they get the bulk of the television time as well. It should come as no surprise that those winners receive the biggest paydays by far out of anyone else in the tournament.
There are still plenty of paydays out there for others to capitalize on. Here’s a breakdown of what other participants might expect.
Singles – Prize Money
| Singles (2021) | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| Winner | $2.39M |
| Runner-Up | $1.27M |
| Semi-Final | $656K |
| Quarter-Final | $423K |
| R4 | $255K |
| R3 | $162K |
| R2 | $105K |
| R1 | $67K |
The runner up at Wimbledon receives pretty much exactly half of what the winner gets in prize money.
Doubles – Prize Money
| 2021 | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| Winner | $677K |
| Runner-Up | $338K |
| Semi-Final | $169K |
| Quarter-Final | $69K |
| R3 | $35K |
| R2 | $22K |
| R1 | $14K |
There has been a recent boost in prize money for not only same-sex doubles, but mixed doubles as well. That increase has far surpassed the singles competition based off of percentages.
Wimbledon is giving early-round participants a significant boost in doubles as well. It’s hard to stay on tour and compete at a high-level as a double specialist, so the extra bit of prize money certainly helps.
It is a bit of a double edge sword, as more casual doubles players suit up and play at the Grand Slams. The prize money might be somewhat enticing, but there is also the prestige of winning a major.
Mixed Doubles – Prize Money
| 2021 | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| Winner | €140K |
| Runner-Up | €70K |
| Semi-Final | €35K |
| Quarter-Final | €17K |
| R3 | €8.5K |
| R2 | €4.2K |
| R1 | €2.1K |
Mixed doubles is always going to receive less, but they are still getting a pretty good payday compared to most other tournaments.
Wheelchair Events – Prize Money
| 2021 | Winner Receives | Total Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelchair Singles (Men & Women) | $67K | $250K |
| Wheelchair Doubles | $28K | $74K |
| Quad Wheelchair Singles | $67K | $250K |
| Quad Wheelchair Doubles | $28K | $74K |
Total Prize Money – Wimbledon History
| Year | Total Wimbledon Prize Money | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £35,016,000 | -7.85% |
| 2020 | Cancelled | – |
| 2019 | £38,000,000 | +11.76% |
| 2018 | £34,000,000 | +7.59% |
| 2017 | £31,600,000 | +12.46% |
| 2016 | £28,100,000 | +5.05% |
| 2015 | £26,750,000 | +7.00% |
| 2014 | £25,000,000 | +10.82% |
| 2013 | £22,560,000 | +40.47% |
| 2012 | £16,060,000 | +10.00% |
| 2011 | £14,600,000 | +6.38% |
| 2010 | £13,725,000 | +9.36% |
| 2009 | £12,550,000 | +6.25% |
| 2008 | £11,812,000 | +4.69% |
| 2007 | £11,282,710 | +8.69% |
| 2006 | £10,380,710 | +2.93% |
| 2005 | £10,085,510 | +3.90% |
| 2004 | £9,707,280 | +3.56% |
| 2003 | £9,373,990 | +6.22% |
| 2002 | £8,825,320 | +3.52% |
| 2001 | £8,525,280 | +5.82% |
| 2000 | £8,056,480 | +6.07% |
| 1999 | £7,595,330 | +5.38% |
| 1998 | £7,207,590 | +4.69% |
| 1997 | £6,884,952 | +6.48% |
| 1996 | £6,465,910 | +7.31% |
| 1995 | £6,025,550 | +6.04% |
| 1994 | £5,682,170 | +12.55% |
| 1993 | £5,048,450 | +14.30% |
| 1992 | £4,416,820 | +10.12% |
| 1991 | £4,010,970 | +5.01% |
| 1990 | £3,819,730 | +21.89% |
| 1989 | £3,133,749 | +19.97% |
| 1988 | £2,612,126 | +23.23% |
| 1987 | £2,119,780 | 0.00% |
| 1986 | £2,119,780 | +9.56% |
| 1985 | £1,934,760 | +32.35% |
| 1984 | £1,461,896 | +49.45% |
| 1983 | £978,211 | +64.86% |
| 1982 | £593,366 | +84.20% |
| 1981 | £322,136 | +9.77% |
| 1980 | £293,464 | +5.92% |
| 1979 | £277,066 | -0.70% |
| 1978 | £279,023 | +25.38% |
| 1977 | £222,540 | +41.08% |
| 1976 | £157,740 | +37.31% |
| 1975 | £114,875 | +18.31% |
| 1974 | £97,100 | +85.31% |
| 1973 | £52,400 | +4.11% |
| 1972 | £50,330 | +33.18% |
| 1971 | £37,790 | -9.27% |
| 1970 | £41,650 | +24.81% |
| 1969 | £33,370 | +27.61% |
| 1968 | £26,150 | – |
How Wimbledon Stacks Up Against The Other Majors
What many people are surprised to hear at first is that the prize money at Wimbledon is not the highest available. In fact, Wimbledon gives out the lowest prize money out of all four majors. There is still very little to laugh at with the purse expected to be over £40 million this upcoming year, but how it breaks up is a pretty big change.
| Tournament | Total Prize Money |
|---|---|
| US Open | €51M |
| Australian Open | €44M |
| Roland Garros | €43M |
| Wimbledon | €38M |
Part of the reason why Wimbledon does not pay as much out as the other majors comes down to their lack of commercialization. They are mostly clear of any company brands at the stadium. The only brand represented is Rolex, the official timekeeper of Wimbledon. Other majors have additional sponsors that help increase prize money significantly.
Wimbledon was slow to become a bit more inclusive with other tournaments, but they are fully embracing all types of tennis at this point. Prize money increases for the lesser know tournaments are still high priority going into 2020 and beyond.
If you want to compare the Wimbledon prize money to the other Grand Slam tournaments, check out these posts:
