Jannik Sinner has lost almost half of his Wimbledon prize money to tax after beating Alexander Zverev in the final at the All England Club. Sinner emerged victorious after a 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 6-4 win on Centre Court on Sunday, claiming his second Wimbledon title and the fifth Grand Slam of his career.
Prize Money and Tax Deduction
Alongside the iconic Wimbledon trophy, Sinner received an eye-watering £3.6 million winner's prize. However, the 24-year-old has already handed over £1.62 million of that total to HMRC. The highest nominal income tax rate in the UK is 45 per cent, applied to earnings over £125,140 within a tax year. Due to the prize money being in the millions and Sinner being in the highest tax bracket, the money he receives is taxed at the highest income rate.
One factor in his favour, however, is that players can deduct relevant business expenses, such as flights, coaches and equipment, which could mean paying slightly less tax if their profit is actually less than £3.6 million.
Runner-Up Also Affected
The same 45 per cent total income tax rate will also apply to the runner-up. Alexander Zverev received a prize of £1.8 million for finishing as the runner-up, meaning he too will lose nearly half of his winnings to tax.
Sinner's Path to the Final
Top seed Sinner's path to the final saw him navigate tight straight-set battles against Nuno Borges and Jenson Brooksby before sweeping past Shintaro Mochizuki and Jan-Lennard Struff. From there, the defending champion put on a clinic in the semi-finals, dismantling seventh seed Novak Djokovic in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory to reach the final without losing a single set since the opening round.
Zverev's Journey
Meanwhile, second seed Zverev overcame tough four-set challenges from Alexander Blockx and Jiri Lehecka to find his stride. The German went on to dismantle sixth seed Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals before stopping the fairytale run of British wildcard Arthur Fery, delivering a clinical 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-4 semi-final victory.
