Wimbledon flops to get £30,000 just for losing the first round! Sum jumps by 200% in just nine years as winners' prize money tops £2million

And if a player wins the first match, they are guaranteed a prize of £50,000

Prize money for this year’s singles winners up by 6.4 per cent to £2 million

Leaves Wimbledon second in the rich list of world tennis championships

Sometimes it pays to lose. Players who get beaten in the first-round of this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships will pick up £30,000 for a couple of hours’ work.

And if a player wins the first match, they are guaranteed £50,000 – nearly twice the UK’s £27,600 average salary.

In last year’s tournament, British players Kyle Edmund, Brydan Klein, Johanna Kunta, Naomi Broady and Laura Robson all lost in straight sets in the first round.

In last year’s tournament, British players Kyle Edmund, Brydan Klein, Johanna Kunta, Naomi Broady and Laura Robson (pictured) all lost in straight sets in the first round

All five had been given wildcards by organisers, meaning they didn’t need a high world ranking to qualify for the lucrative tournament.

British player Alex Bogdanovic was the most notorious beneficiary of the controversial wildcard system, losing eight successive first-round matches between 2002 and 2009 and winning £75,000 in prize money in the process.

The £30,000 for this year’s 128 first-round losers is a 200 per cent increase on the £10,000 awarded in 2007.

The prize money for this year’s singles champions has increased by 6.4 per cent to £2 million, the All England Club announced yesterday, with the total prize pot rising to £28.1 million. Last year, winners Novak Djokovic (pictured) and Serena Williams each collected £1.88million

Chairman Philip Brook admitted the image of the sport had suffered in recent months.

He said: ‘I think it’s hard to say that it hasn’t been hit. Our hope is that people will see what measures have been taken with the anti-corruption authorities. I think the sport reacted quickly in terms of the review.’

But he refused to say whether any ban would affect Sharapova’s membership of the All England Club, which she gained as a champion. Mr Brook said: ‘It would be a great shame because Maria is a popular former champion.’

He said security measures for Wimbledon will also be increased following the attacks in Paris and Brussels, adding: ‘We know what’s happened around the world in the last 12 months so there will be a little bit more overt security.’

Chief executive Richard Lewis said extra funds would be allocated for analysis of betting patterns to detect any suspicious activity.

Andy Murray won the title in 2013, he picked up £1.6 million

The issue of match-fixing came to the fore during the Australian Open, when it was alleged that tennis authorities suppressed evidence and failed to thoroughly probe possible fixing involving 16 players.

That led governing bodies to launch an independent review of the sport’s anti-corruption group, the Tennis Integrity Unit.

Over the past five years, total prize money at Wimbledon has nearly doubled, rising by 92 per cent. The highest increase was in 2013, when it went up by 40 per cent. When Andy Murray won the title in 2013, he picked up £1.6 million.

The news comes as the All England Club also raised the price for debentures on No 1 Court from £13,700 to £31,000 for the five years from 2017.

This follows a rise of similar proportions for Centre Court debentures from £27,500 to £50,000, starting this June, which has angered fans. The 130th tournament will be played from June 27 to July 10.