Players Welcome Wimbledon Record Prize Money, Call for Transparent Revenue Sharing

By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, June 12, 2026
Photo credit: Jon Buckle/ROLEX

Players welcome Wimbledon’s record-setting prize money as a positive starting point.

Now, tennis’ top stars are calling on Wimbledon and the Grand Slams to commit to a “fair and transparent revenue sharing formula” going forward to bridge the gap between the four majors and the players.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club announced a record prize money of £64.2 million, which is about $85.6 million for The Championships 2026.  he £10.7 million increase from 2025 prize money represents “a significant 20% increase, and by far the biggest annual increase in the history of the event,” tournament organizers said in a statement.

The ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles champions will earn £3.6 million, which is about $4.83 million (up 20%) and singles finalists will take home £1.8 million, which is about $2.4 million (up 18%).  

In response, top ATP and WTA players issued a statement welcoming the prize-money increase and pointing out they believe there’s more work to be done in finalizing a fair revenue-sharing plan.

Here’s the statement the players issued:

Leading players from the ATP and WTA Tours welcome Wimbledon’s 2026 prize money announcement as a genuineand 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 thegame. 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.

At the same time, players are clear that today’s announcement, while genuinely welcomed, does not yetresolve the structural issues they have been raising with the Grand Slams for the past year. Progress on those issues remains outstanding.

While players are pleased by the total prize-money payout at The Championships, they assert Wimbledon’s prize money package actually represents a smaller percentage of total revenue compared to 2015. Previously, players have said they’re seeking 16% of total revenue from each Slam in prize money.

“Wimbledon’s prize money of £64.2 million represents approximately 14.4% of projected 2026 revenues of£444.8 million, based on 2025 revenues grown at 5% — the same methodology set out in players’ formal July 2025 proposal to the All England Club,” players said in a statement. “That figure is meaningfully higher than last year and reflects real momentum.

“But context matters. In 2015, Wimbledon paid players approximately 14.9% of revenues. In 2026, after the largest annual prize money increase in tournament history, players’ share stands at 14.4% — still below where it was a decade ago, despite revenues growing by approximately £280million over that period. Revenue has grown significantly faster than player compensation over the last decade.”

To support their stance, the players issued this table showing Wimbledon’s annual revenue-sharing percentage to illustrate their percentage of the revenue pie was actually higher in 2015 though Wimbledon paid out a total of £26.75 million in 2015, which is far lower than the £64.2 million the grass-court Grand Slam will pay out this summer.

Players say prize-money and revenue sharing is one of three primary issues they want to address with Slams. Players are calling for negotiations on these issues according to today’s news release:

• Players have proposed that Grand Slams “begin contributing directly to a player welfare fundcovering long-term health, pension, and maternity protections.”
• Players have proposed “a fair and transparent revenue-sharing formula, so that as Wimbledon(and the other Grand Slams) grows, players automatically share in that growth.”
• Players have proposed “a player council to give players a meaningful voice in decisions that affect them.”