Sports

Wimbledon prize money just got chopped by $360,000, thanks to Brexit

Venus Williams of the United States reacts during her Wimbledon match against Croatia's Donna Vekic, June 27, 2016.
Andrew Couldridge | Reuters

Britain's vote to leave the European Union has hit the tennis world, too.

The prestigious Wimbledon championships, held in London, started Monday. The dollar value of prizes given to the grass-court winners has dropped since early Friday local time, when referendum results shocked financial markets and sent the pound into a tailspin.

Winners of the men's and women's singles competitions will make £2 million this year. On Thursday afternoon that was equal to roughly $3 million, as the pound traded around $1.50. But by Monday, the pound traded at about $1.32, trimming about $360,000 off the prize's dollar value.

The top prize increased to £2 million this year from £1.88 million last year.

The currency depreciation likely won't make a difference for established elite tennis players, who have lucrative endorsement deals off the court to add to their tournament winnings.