Wimbledon to increase prize money to over £2m due to Brexit

The prize money for the winners of Wimbledon this year is set to increase due to the fall in the value of the pound against the dollar following Brexit.

Last year's single winners Andy Murray and Serena Williams both received £2m which was around $2.92m at a rate of $1.46 to the pound.

However, following Brexit, the pound has since dropped to $1.30, meaning that this year's winners will need to receive at least £2.25m to earn the equivalent of last year's winnings.

The All England Club will raise the prize money this year, with the exact figure to be revealed on Wednesday (3 May), so that the potential winners do not earn less due to the referendum result.

"The All England Lawn Tennis Club always takes into account the business and economic context of tennis worldwide, including any currency fluctuations, when determining prize money for each year's championships," a spokeswoman for Wimbledon said, as quoted on The Times.

The Brexit vote on 23 June, 2016 already had an impact on last year's Wimbledon prize money as Williams earned $340,000 (£263,000) less than she would have made had the Wimbledon women's singles final taken place before the referendum rather than on 9 July, 2016.

Despite the competitiveness between the four Grand Slams, the US Open leads the way with payouts, paying a record £2.65m ($3.5m) to singles winners Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber last year.

However, with Wimbledon's expected increase in prize money, the winners at SW19 this year will now be the first to receive more than £2m.