Tennis News • Pandemic Insurance Pays: Wimbledon To Dish Out Prize Money To Players

By Ricky Dimon

Wimbledon itself is not the sole beneficiary of having the foresight to acquire pandemic insurance. Now the players are thanking their lucky stars for it.

It was announced on Friday that the tournament, which was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will allocate 10 million pounds in prize money to players who would have been ranked high enough to participate in any discipline.

The 256 players who would have competed in gentlemen’s and ladies’ singles will each receive 25,000 pounds; the 224 players who would have competed in gentlemen’s and ladies’ qualifying events will each receive 12,500 pounds; 120 players who would have competed in doubles will each receive 6,250 pounds; 16 players who would have competed in the wheelchair events will each receive 6,000 pounds; four players who would have competed in the quad wheelchair events will each receive 5,000 pounds. That is a total of 620 would-be participants being compensated.

“Immediately following the cancellation of The Championships, we turned our attention to how we could assist those who help make Wimbledon happen,” said Richard Lewis, chief executive of the All-England Club. “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 cancellation 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.”

Wimbledon had been scheduled to take place between June 29 to July 12 before being canceled in April. This marks the first time it has not been played since 1945 (World War II) and the first time it has not been played in peacetime since 1877.

Shortly after cancellation, it was revealed that the tournament would collect a $141 million payout from a pandemic insurance policy it has paid a total of $34 million for over the last 17 years.

There is a chance that Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam to get the axe this year. The Australian Open was played in January before the crisis hit, the U.S. Open is still scheduled for its normal spot on the calendar, and the French Open has been postponed until late September and early October. Wimbledon could not be played at a later date in the fall because of the particulars of grass courts. It is only feasible to play all day every day for two straight weeks on grass during a summer month.

Ricky contributes to10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.