London: Several of the world's top tennis players are likely to avoid leading tournaments in Britain because of the UK government's policy of taxing their endorsement income, according to the man who runs Wimbledon.
Wimbledon organisers said on Tuesday this year's prize fund would be £14.6 million (Dh87.65 million), an increase of 6.4 per cent on 2010, while the singles champions will each pocket £1.1 million — up 10 per cent.
Those numbers and the kudos of the tournament mean there is no risk of any player staying away from the grand slam but the pre-Wimbledon Queens event and the ATP finals could suffer, Wimbledon's CEO Ian Ritchie told Reuters.
"Of course we have no problem with players being taxed on prize money but there is no doubt that the tax on endorsement income is a big disincentive," Ritchie said.
"There are plenty of places wanting to take the ATP finals. We want to keep that here, and we want the best players at Queens but it seems individual sports are the only events where sportsmen are taxed for endorsement income."
Government rules state that sportsmen and women competing or even just practising in the UK are taxed a proportion of their income from endorsements and sponsorships even if those deals have nothing to do with Britain.
The rules are the reason triple Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt stayed away from last year's London Diamond League meeting and could affect some smaller golf tournaments.
Ritchie said tennis officials have been lobbying the UK government for two years on the issue but have yet to receive any reply.