Experiencing Wimbledon live at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club can be a costly affair. Tickets can cost up to £300 (about $408), and even food and drink don’t come cheap. Just ask Nick Kyrgios, who will tell you that even the simplest things can turn out to be very expensive here. Even more so in 2025, with the tournament raising its food and drink prices across the board. For example, a draft beer now costs £8.85/$12 (35p more than last year), while a glass of Wimbledon’s iconic drink, Pimm’s, will set you back £12.25/$16 (30p more than last year). It’s not exactly unusual for stadium food to be overpriced, even more so considering Wimbledon is the oldest and one of the most prestigious in tennis, but even so, Kyrgios was having none of it.

While Kyrgios won’t be partaking in any of the on-court action himself, he’s closely following proceedings from the stands. On this occasion, he took the opportunity to talk about the drink prices during an interview at the tournament, seemingly astonished to learn what even a single beer was priced at.

Kyrgios said, “What I will complain is the price of the drinks. Yes, at Wimbledon, this is crazy. It was like 11 pounds for a beer which is like 20+ [Australian] dollars. For a beer, that’s too much. Like, they need to lower those prices a little. Wimbledon, you gotta lower prices.”

Comparing the beer prices at other tournaments like the US Open, you can get a Corona, the official beer of the US Open, for a few Australian dollars less at $11.95 (AUD $16/£9). And if multi-million-dollar-worth Kyrgios is complaining about the prices, then you can imagine what the regular spectators at Wimbledon are thinking about the expensive food and drink.

Similarly, the Australian Open was also criticized earlier this year for the food and drink prices in and around Melbourne Park. That said, the Australian prices are the ones to beat; a plastic cup of beer was priced at AUD $14.50 ($10/£7). So considering Kyrgios had to pay close to double that amount at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, it’s no wonder he was incredulous.

Meanwhile, Wimbledon has been infamous for its high ticket prices. Last year, when Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic, the entry-level ticket cost $10,600. Nonetheless, we saw a packed stadium with many fans showing interest despite the high prices. On the other hand, for the players, the prize money has also seen a major change this year.

Players like Carlos Alcaraz are set to receive a major boost at Wimbledon

This year, the Wimbledon Championships has a total purse of 53.5 million pounds. This is approximately 7% more than last year, with players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner receiving a major boost. Meanwhile, the singles champions will pocket $4.1 million USD, and the singles events have received a boost of 8.2% in prize money.

Like other major tennis tournaments, Wimbledon follows an equal pay policy for both men and women. Talking about the prize money increase, the All England Lawn Tennis Club said, “We have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players. But the focus on just the prize money at the four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is with tennis. The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don’t have an off-season which they want, they have increasing injuries that they’re speaking about.”

While it is a win for the players, fans have to bear the brunt of high ticket prices. In a sport whose viewership is declining, such problems will only hinder it further. Do you agree with Kyrgios that consumer-level prices should be affordable? Let us know your views in the comments below and get all the action from the Championships live and uninterrupted on EssentiallySports.