Tennis: Wimbledon's pounds 31m profit

Wimbledon, the most successful lawn tennis championship in the history of the game, produced record profits of pounds 31m last summer, an increase of six per cent from 1996.

The 1997 championships set a new attendance record of 436,531, 51,000 up on the year before, and the performance of British players was the best for years, with Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman reaching the quarter- finals of the men's singles.

Television records were also set, with 12.9m watching Henman's match against Paul Haarhuis on "People's Sunday" and similar figures for Henman's quarter-final with Michael Stich and Rusedski's last eight match against Cedric Pioline.

As always, the entire Wimbledon profits will be handed to the Lawn Tennis Association to be reinvested into the British game.

Off court the sport has made huge strides with increased tournament attendances, community tennis partnerships and the completion of the LTA five-year facilities plan.