Wimbledon awards prize money despite cancellation

After Wimbledon announced it will pay 10 million British pounds
($12.62 million) in prize money despite the cancellation of this year's
tournament, Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) tweeted, "Wow. Incred-
bile stuff @Wimbledon (thank you emoji)." 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Wimbledon gave players some welcome news today.
   Even though the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the tournament, the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced today that its insurance policy will allow it to pay 10 million British pounds ($12.62 million) in prize money.
   "Wow. Incredible stuff @Wimbledon (thank you emoji)," tweeted Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13).
  The AELTC will pay the 620 players whose world ranking would have enabled them to gain entry into Wimbledon, which was scheduled for June 29 to July 12. On April 1, the tournament was canceled for the first time in 75 years and the first time ever during peacetime.
   Based on their world ranking, players will receive either 12,500 pounds ($15,780) for singles qualifying, 25,000 pounds ($31,552) for main-draw singles or 6,250 pounds ($7,890) for main-draw doubles.
   "Immediately following the cancellation of The Championships," AELTC chief executive Richard Lewis said on wimbledon.com, "we turned our attention to how we could assist those help make Wimbledon happen. We know these months of uncertainly 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 recognize 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 in The Championships 2020."
   World TeamTennis – Tommy Paul will replace Frances Tiafoe, who is ineligible after testing positive for COVID-19, on the Washington Kastles. Both are 22-year-old Americans who have won a Northern California Challenger. Paul is ranked No. 57 (sixth in the United States), and Tiafoe is No. 81 (eighth in the U.S.).
   Also, Milos Raonic of the Orange County Breakers and Mardy Fish of the New York Empire will not play this season. Raonic, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2016, opted out for personal reasons, and Fish has an undisclosed injury. Neither will be replaced.
   The WTT season is scheduled for Sunday through Aug. 2 at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V.