Wimbledon Hands Women Equal Prize Money

After years of debate, The Wimbledon Championships has finally ceded to the
pressure and announced that it is to hand men and women equal prize money for
the first time at this year’s tournament.

The decision from the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which runs the
championships, brings Wimbledon into line with all the other Grand Slams on the
annual calendar.

The WTA and leading players of both genders have long fought to achieve
financial parity at Wimbledon – a request that the AELTC had hitherto refused to
grant.

The All England Club had previously defended the difference by saying that
women had best-of-three-set matches while the men had best-of-five contests.

At this year’s tournament however equal rewards will be offered across the
board, from the champions down to the first-round losers in all events.

This system sees Wimbledon adopt the same financial incentives as the US and
Australian Opens leaving the French Open, which only offers equal pay to the
champions, as the only Grand Slam event not to offer parity all the way down the
draw.