Wimbledon prizemoney boosted as a way to counter falling value of British pound

It seems the fallout from the Brexit vote has reached the sporting arena.

This year’s Wimbledon singles champions will each pocket $3.8 million, with the All England Club forced to significantly increase prizemoney to counter the falling value of the pound.

The 2017 champions will take home 10%, or $347,000 more than in 2016.

The overall prize pool has risen 12.5% to nearly $55 million, more than double the amount paid out just six years ago.

2017 marks a decade since Wimbledon moved to equal prizemoney for men and women.

World number one Andy Murray is the early favourite to add a third Wimbledon title to his resume, while the women’s draw is wide open following the news of Serena Williams’ pregnancy, with plenty of interest in whether or not Maria Sharapova is granted a wildcard following her return from a doping ban.

"We are proud of the important leadership role that Wimbledon plays locally, nationally, and internationally, and are committed to continuing to invest to secure the future of the Championships, and of our sport, for the years to come," Wimbledon chairman Philip Brook said.

The US Open is yet to announce its prizemoney for 2017, but is likely to retain its status as tennis’ richest tournament.  Last year’s champions Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber took home a staggering $4.6 million.

Even without the increase, Wimbledon’s prizemoney dwarfs that paid to top performers in other sports. Golfer Sergio Garcia’s recent victory in the US Masters earned him “only” $2.67 million.