Pound's slump offsets prize money rise

WIMBLEDON: The Wimbledon champions are getting a big increase in prize money this year, at least when it comes to the British pound.

The prize for each of the men's and women's champions went up by 13.3 percent to 850,000 pounds ($1.24 million), organizers said on Tuesday, but the pound's weak exchange rate means that translates to a reduction in dollars of 17 percent from last year's $1.49 million.

Buoyed by a new television contract in Asia and the extension of its commercial agreement with IBM, the tournament has also raised the total prize fund for the June 22-July 5 tournament by 6.2 percent to 12.55 million pounds ($18.38 million).