Tim Henman calls on tennis to increase prize money following Wimbledon announcement Henman, the former world number four and a Wimbledon board member, believes things need to change. He said: "If I was a player now I would be saying to the ATP that they've done a good job with the grand slams and now they need to look at the other 44 weeks of the year. I don't think the prize money at other events is a fair reflection on how the game has progressed. The prize money at the lower end is the same as it was 20 or 25 years ago. The leadership has to come from the ATP, the WTA and the ITF. The issue is the ATP is 50/50 players and tournaments, so the players are going to say they want more prize money but the tournaments don't want to give it. But because we are such a global game, the expense for players is huge, and they're self-employed, it's not like other sports where they have a club footing the bill. If you're travelling around the world you're going to want to have a coach, a fitness trainer. That's why players are struggling to break even, and they're phenomenal tennis players. Although it has been the likes of Roger Federer and Andy Murray leading the calls for increased prize money at the slams, their focus has primarily been ensuring the lower-ranked players are adequately rewarded. While the Wimbledon singles champions will each take home £1.6million, the biggest increases in percentage terms come in qualifying and for the first and second-round losers. That has led some to accuse the slams of rewarding failure, but Henman believes the balance is right and the money is a reflection of the difficulty of earning a place in the main draw in the first place. Speaking at an HSBC community tennis clinic in Southampton, Henman said of the Wimbledon prize fund: "It's a reflection of where the game is at right now. I've been on both sides of the fence as a player and now on the Wimbledon board. Forty per cent is a huge increase but it's very much deserved. The game right now is better than it's ever been, although I'm not sure if the players are going to get 40 per cent every year. It's also a statement of where Wimbledon views itself. We've talked about it at length. I went to Indian Wells in March last year with the (Wimbledon) chairman and chief executive to discuss these different issues and we went to Shanghai last October to continue these talks (with the players). We've looked at what the other grand slams are doing and have come to a decision for this year. We've also looked at the distribution. I think it's very important we try to support the guys ranked from 60 to 200. Wimbledon chairman Phillip Brook has gone to big lengths to explain what's changed but the media has focused on the bits they want to focus on. And an important point is the public are not going to foot the bill. The value for money at Wimbledon is incredible compared to other sports.