The struggle over Wimbledon’s finances
The cost of running the prestigious tournament has risen significantly and players want a greater share of revenues
At the World Cup, fans are scouring Fifa’s online marketplace for tickets that can cost thousands of dollars and enduring the advertising bonanza created by “hydration breaks” during the matches.
In comparison, at Wimbledon next week corporate branding will be, as usual, sparse on Centre Court while the reselling of ordinary tickets is banned. Spectators are even allowed to bring their own food and drink into the grounds.
“We consciously leave money on the table,” Deborah Jevans, chair of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which organises the Championships at Wimbledon, told the FT.
But the Wimbledon model is under pressure. The cost of running what is widely considered tennis’s most prestigious tournament has already significantly increased over the past decade, and leading players are now campaigning for a greater share of its revenues.
They will cut short their media duties during the first week of the tournament to make their point, part of a wider attempt to push the four tennis Grand Slams — which are also held in Australia, France and the US — to increase prize money.
The All England Club has already increased the total pot handed out to players by 20 per cent to £64.2mn this year — the biggest jump in Wimbledon’s history. But players say this equates to about 14.4 per cent of the £444.8mn revenue they expect Wimbledon to make this year.
All England Club officials have argued that it makes no business sense to calculate prize money based on revenues alone — costs have also risen over the past decade, partly because of inflation following the pandemic.
In 2015, costs of generating revenue and administrative expenses totalled £139mn. Last year, they amounted to £370mn. This is because of a host of factors, including spending on technology, such as installing electronic line-calling, and infrastructure.
Jevans says Wimbledon will not just increase revenues for the sake of it. The board had looked at dynamic pricing but decided against it. “We like the way we do it, it’s a fixed price and you can’t sell that ticket,” she said.
Restraint is part of the business model. Grounds passes to the tournament in south-west London for the first eight days are priced at £33 this year. Those lucky enough to buy tickets in the public ballot can get into Centre Court for as low as £80. A daily queue offers another relatively affordable entry point during the two-week event.
“It can be that national treasure, and it can be exclusive but that doesn’t mean you can’t be accessible, that you can’t be open and open your gate and invite as many people as you can to that special event,” said Jevans.
Hospitality packages are unashamedly premium, however. At the Rosewater Pavilion, prices start at £2,495 per person excluding VAT.
Just under half of Wimbledon’s revenue comes from broadcasters. Jevans says she would rather work with them and other commercial partners to increase what they are willing to pay than stop people from bringing their own snacks to “sit on the hill and have a fantastic day”.
“If people in the queue bring in a bottle of champagne and a sandwich, in the big scheme of things, it’s not going to move the dial that much,” she added. “To deny that opportunity would not change the bottom line so much, and it would change part of our character.”
She added: “We’re a sustainable business that’s been around for 150 years, and we want to keep running it in the way that we do, which does include maintaining those values.”
Patrick McEnroe, the ESPN analyst, former player and brother of three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe, said the tournament and other majors made “tremendous amounts of money” and that “they can find a way to give the players a little bit more and also do the other things they’re doing, growing the sport and supporting community tennis”.
“I don’t think anyone’s thinking [the players] should get 40 per cent or 50 per cent like they do in other sports. But mid-teens is pretty low,” McEnroe said.
Revenues from the Championships totalled £423.6mn in 2025, up from £179.9mn a decade earlier. However, any increase in prize money takes away from what the organisers can invest in infrastructure.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is the private members’ club that owns the Championships, which it owns via another business entity.
The All England Lawn Tennis Ground Company — a separate entity in the structure — issues debentures, which guarantee a seat, to raise money to fund improvements such as roofs on the main two courts and a practice facility at nearby Raynes Park. The Club is also looking to expand the Wimbledon site.
More importantly, cost increases eat into a vital source of funds for grassroots tennis — the money that goes from the tournament to the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport’s governing body in Great Britain. Prize money has exceeded the payment to the LTA — it was £48mn in 2025 — for two years running.
Ultimately, Wimbledon is not a football club with a billionaire owner or investment firm to inject capital to subsidise losses. “We invest back in the players, we invest back in grassroots tennis, and we invest in our infrastructure,” said Jevans. “Private equity isn’t something we are considering.”
“I’m comfortable that the model we have is fit for purpose for a number of years yet,” she added.