The Lawn Tennis Association(LTA) has lost £30 million in income year on year, as a result of which the governing body incurred an operating loss of £5.2 million in 2020. Although, the overall loss summed up to a still manageable £1.8 million after taking into account the gains in investment, the overall finances of the British tennis governing body were in shambles.
According to reports, the ongoing year could turn out to be even more challenging for LTA. The pandemic wave had taken along with itself most of the major tennis tournaments and their audiences, returning with hardly any revenue.
Approximately 75 percent of its total income of £47 million in 2020 came from Wimbledon (£36 million) as a saviour to the LTA, displaying the importance of All England Club’s pandemic insurance. However, the payment was about £10 million lower than what it was in 2019.
Moreover, the LTA just bagged an income of £676,000 throughout the major events of 2020 compared to £14.4 million from the same events in 2019. Along with the empty stadiums and loss of ticket sales, the commercial income was also severely affected. Meanwhile, the losses were alleviated to a certain extent as the organization had saved £19.3 million, from which about £5 million was spent in order to support coaches, venues, officials, and tennis charities through the pandemic.
LTA had in the previous year arranged an overdraft facility of £15 million in order to stabilize its fluctuating working capital, but as per what is said the following year might raise more economical concerns. Wimbledon too is set to take a major blow as reduced spectator capacity will result in reduced income, which is also applicable for the events run by LTA. It is expected that the net cost of organizing these tournaments would be approximately double what it would have been. LTA CEO, Scott Lloyd, confirmed that there might be challenges ahead for the organization.
“This year we have the uncertainty created by a reduced capacity at the Championships and our own events, as well as the extra costs that Covid is imposing on our events.”