Emma Raducanu will be hit financially despite taking home £226,000 from her recent Wimbledon run. The 21-year-old faced last-minute replacement Renata Zarazua in her opening game of the tournament, bettering the Mexican 7-6 and 6-3 to advance to the second round.
6-1 and 6-2 wins over Elise Mertens would see the top talent advance to the third round to face Maria Sakkari, making light work of her foe with 6-2 and 6-3 victories. However, the GB tennis sensation’s tournament run would come to a halt in the round of 16 when she would be matched up with Lulu Sun.
The New Zealand native would win the first game 6-2 before Raducanu would come back 7-5 in the second. Unfortunately, the set would be the last win of her Wimbledon 2024 journey though, with Sun once again winning 6-2 in the third set to knock Raducanu out of the competition.
Despite being ousted in the round of 16, Raducanu is reported to have taken home a £226,000 paycheck for her participation in the London-based Grand Slam. But experts estimate that she’ll be hit hard financially away from the courts.
Speaking to OLBG, Dr Rob Wilson said: “Emma Raducanu, like most athletes who earn any kind of real money, will be set up as a company for the purposes of taxation and earning profits etc. She’ll pay, on the basis that she’s based in the UK, 20% corporation tax up to a certain level and then 25% as soon as those profits go above the next tax threshold.
“So if she were to earn, say, £10million she would be expected to be taxed by around £2.5m, and then there will be deductible expenses through a company to try and bring that tax bill down, which are all legitimate. But she will have a significant tax bill based upon her Wimbledon earnings which are as of yet to be confirmed. Realistically, 20% corporation tax on top of those earnings.”
It comes after Raducanu was accused of ruining tennis legend Andy Murray’s Wimbledon farewell in the mixed doubles tournament. While Murray was initially set to take part in the men’s singles tournament, he was unable to make his first match with Tomas Machac as he was still recovering from a back operation.
Instead, Murray opted to take part in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles tournaments. In the men’s doubles, he was beaten alongside his brother Jamie in the duo’s initial game against John Peers and Rinky Hijikata – losing 7-6 and 6-4.
And Murray was supposed to compete alongside Raducanu in the mixed doubles tournament until his teammate pulled out amid injury fears. Speaking about the decision, she said: “I didn’t want to take his last match away from him. But at the end of the day I think a lot of the players in a similar situation would have done the same thing, prioritising their body.
“I still stand by making the right call. He was obviously disappointed because it’s his last match [at Wimbledon]. But what a champion. I think that hopefully he’ll play in the Olympics and have another farewell there. I think with every decision, people are entitled to their opinions.
“Of course, there was a bit of a cloud it. I don’t think I would have done it any other way. I think in this sport especially, as an individual, you have to make your own calls and prioritise yourself. Especially with my history, I just had to put myself first.”
Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray is expected to retire later this year, but he will aim to win Olympic gold with Team GB in Paris beforehand.