Wimbledon ups purse
04/19/2011 04:55:04 PM
The likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and possibly Serena Williams will be competing for the largest purse in Wimbledon history in June.
Organisers for the prestigious tournament have revealed that the 2011 winners will pocket 1.1 million pounds - a rise of 10 percent from 2010.
Nadal and Williams each collected one million pounds last year for triumphing in the men's and women's singles respectively, though the latter is in doubt to defend her title at the All England Club due to ongoing injury concerns.
The total prize pool for this year's tournament has also been raised to 14.6 million pounds, up 6.4 percent.Philip Brook, chairman of the All England Club, said the increases are just reward for the stars of the ATP and WTA Tours.
"Leading international sports events such as Wimbledon are all about the quality of the players on show," Brook said.
"It is important that we offer prize money which suitably rewards the players both for the box-office appeal they bring to the event and for their supreme performances on court."
The first round at Wimbledon gets underway on June 20, with the women's final to take place on July 2 and the men's final one day later.