Wimbledon is to announce a "significant increase" in prize money for this year’s championships to "take account of the low value of the pound against the dollar" since Brexit, according to Stuart Fraser of the LONDON TIMES. The All England Club is to "implement a greater rise in prize money" for the tournament than in previous years to "ensure that players do not suffer a drop in income because of the referendum result." The singles champions will each earn more than £2M ($2.6M) for the first time. The exact amount will be revealed on Wednesday. The £2M that the singles champions, Andy Murray and Serena Williams, each received last year equated to about $2.92M at a rate of $1.46 to the pound. With the pound having since fallen to $1.30, the amount given to the winners this year "would need to reach" £2.25M ($2.9M) to be worth the same in dollars as last year. Competitiveness between the four grand slams "fuels increases in prize money." The US Open "leads the way" for singles champions, paying out £2.65M last year (LONDON TIMES, 5/1).
