The All England Lawn Tennis Club - the organization which runs Wimbledon - has announced it will allocate prize money to players despite the cancelation of this year's Championships due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Based on WTA and ATP world rankings, 224 players who would have competed in qualifying will each receive £12,500; 256 players who would have competed in main draw singles will each receive £25,000; 120 players who would have competed in main draw doubles will each receive £6,250; 16 players who would have competed in the wheelchair events will each receive £6,000; and four players who would have competed in the quad wheelchair events will each receive £5,000. Players will only receive payment for one event.
The AELTC said the agreed total for distribution is £10 million which is the equivalent of $12.4m.
The AELTC are pleased to announce that we are in a position to allocate prize money to the 620 players whose world ranking would have enabled them to gain entry into The Championships 2020 by direct acceptance into the Main Draw or Qualifying event.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/s8GpF6ueEv
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2020
Richard Lewis CBE, AELTC Chief Executive, commented: “Immediately following the cancelation of the Championships, we turned our attention to how we could assist those who help make Wimbledon happen. We know these months of uncertainty have been very worrying for these groups, including the players, many of whom have faced financial difficulty during this period and who would have quite rightly anticipated the opportunity to earn prize money at Wimbledon based on their world ranking.
"We are pleased that our insurance policy has allowed us to recognise the impact of the cancelation on the players and that we are now in a position to offer this payment as a reward for the hard work they have invested in building their ranking to a point where they would have gained direct entry into The Championships 2020.”
The AELTC has also worked with the LTA, the governing body for tennis in Britain, to provide a payment to the LTA-licensed officials and a number of international officials who would have worked at the Championships this year.
During the pandemic, the AELTC has worked to support those affected. Efforts have included the Wimbledon Foundation’s £1.2m coronavirus fund to support charities tackling the crisis response and recovery, the donations of strawberries, towels and balls intended for The Championships 2020, the distribution of daily hot meals to those in need in the local community, and contributions to the Player Relief Programme and wheelchair tennis fund established by the governing bodies of world tennis and a coaches fundraising scheme.
Read more: Wimbledon 2020 announcement
