Following the announcement of the cancellation of The Championships 2020, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has focused Wimbledon’s efforts on supporting those most affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at a local, national and international level.

These efforts have included the Wimbledon Foundation’s £1.2m coronavirus fund to support charities tackling the crisis response and recovery, the donations of strawberries, towels and balls intended for The Championships 2020, the distribution of daily hot meals to those in need in the local community, and contributions to the Player Relief Programme and wheelchair tennis fund established by the governing bodies of world tennis and a coaches fundraising scheme. We have also ensured that our passionate fans have been able to enjoy extensive Wimbledon coverage during the 2020 Fortnight under the theme of ‘Wimbledon Recreated’ with the support of our broadcasters. More information is available here.

Uppermost in our mind has been our responsibility to do what we can for those groups who rely on The Championships for their livelihood and are integral to making Wimbledon happen.

Prize money

As such, the AELTC is pleased to announce that, following consultation regarding our insurance cover for cancellation, we are now in a position to allocate prize money to the 620 players whose world ranking would have enabled them to gain entry into The Championships 2020 by direct acceptance into the Main Draw or Qualifying event.

From an agreed total of £10m, the AELTC will distribute prize money in lieu of The Championships 2020 with regard for the circumstances of this year and in the spirit of the AELTC’s prize money distribution in recent years.

Based on world ranking, 224 players who would have competed in Qualifying will each receive £12,500; 256 players who would have competed in Main Draw Singles will each receive £25,000; 120 players who would have competed in Main Draw Doubles will each receive £6,250; 16 players who would have competed in the Wheelchair events will each receive £6,000; and four players who would have competed in the Quad Wheelchair events will each receive £5,000. Players will only receive payment for one event.

Richard Lewis CBE, AELTC Chief Executive, commented: “Immediately following the cancellation of The Championships, we turned our attention to how we could assist those who help make Wimbledon happen. We know these months of uncertainty have been very worrying for these groups, including the players, many of whom have faced financial difficulty during this period and who would have quite rightly anticipated the opportunity to earn prize money at Wimbledon based on their world ranking. We are pleased that our insurance policy has allowed us to recognise the impact of the cancellation on the players and that we are now in a position to offer this payment as a reward for the hard work they have invested in building their ranking to a point where they would have gained direct entry into The Championships 2020.”

Officials

The AELTC has also recognised the significant impact of cancellation and the absence of income from The Championships on the officiating community, without whom we would be unable to stage the event. As a result, the AELTC has worked with the LTA, the governing body for tennis in Britain, to provide a payment to the LTA licensed officials who would have worked at The Championships this year, and also a number of International Officials, all highly skilled individuals who are vital to the success of The Championships.

2021 Wimbledon Public Ballot

Alongside our contributions to the response and recovery from the pandemic, the AELTC has also begun to consider scenarios for The Championships 2021 and beyond.

These conversations cover many aspects of our operational delivery, including potential arrangements for the various stakeholders involved in the event, whether they be players, spectators, staff or media. While the next Championships is still 12 months away, we will be taking the opportunity to watch and learn from the experience of other sports organisations and entertainment events as they return in order to prepare for every possible outcome.

Given that the Wimbledon Public Ballot had been fully allocated for The Championships 2020 and our intention as stated at the time of cancellation to transfer those tickets to enable the successful applicants to purchase the same day and court for The Championships 2021, we will not be staging the Wimbledon Public Ballot for 2021. The provision of any additional tickets for The Championships 2021 will be considered within our scenario planning.

Seeding

Since last year’s Championships, we have also taken the time to give consideration to the evolution of the sport and the mechanisms of allocating seeding for The Championships. Given the quality of competition, entertainment and modern grass courts, following detailed discussion with the player groups, the AELTC has decided that the grass court seeding formula used since 2002 has served its time, and from The Championships 2021 seeding for the Gentlemen’s singles draw will be based solely on ranking. There will be no change to the allocation of seeding for the Ladies’ singles draw.

The AELTC will continue to develop additional ways to provide support and to show our gratitude to those stakeholders involved in tennis and those workers on the front line of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the course of 2020 and in the build-up to next year’s Championships. The 134th Championships will be staged from 28 June to 11 July 2021

Appendix

Distribution of prize money in lieu of The Championships 2020

*Please note that players will only receive a payment for one event