Venus Williams ... has welcomed Wimbledon's move on prize money. -Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

LONDON (Reuters):

WIMBLEDON WILL pay women and men equal prize money for the first time at this year's grasscourt grand slam, All-England Club chairman Tim Phillips said yesterday.

The tournament broke with its tradition to join the Australian and U.S. Opens in paying equal prize money across the board in all events and in all stages of competition.

"This year the committee decided unanimously that time was right to move to equal prize money and bring to a close a long progression," Phillips said.

Prize money for the 2007 Championships will be announced in April.

Wimbledon had been criticised for years for maintaining a discrepancy in the prize money offered to its male and female competitors.

Last year, Roger Federer earned 655,000 (US$1.28 million) for winning the men's title while women's champion Amelie Mauresmo took home 625,000.

The All-England Club had previously defended its stand by highlighting that women contested best-of-three-set matches while the men had best of five.

Change welcomed

The French Open introduced equal pay for their men's and women's singles champions in 2006, but remain the only major tournament not to offer the same prize money throughout the rounds.

Wimbledon's decision to offer women parity was welcomed by the WTA tour and players alike.

"This is an historic and defining moment for women in the sport of tennis, and a significant step forward for the equality of women in our society," WTA Tour chief executive officer Larry Scott said in a statement.

"We commend the leadership of Wimbledon for its decisive action in recognising the progress that women's tennis has made."

Venus Williams, a former triple champion at Wimbledon, added: "The greatest tennis tournament in the world has reached an even greate today.

"I applaud today's decision by Wimbledon, which recognises the value of women's tennis. The 2007 Championships will have even greater meaning and significance to me and my fellow players."

Victorian era view

The battle for equal pay for women's tennis had become an yearly topic at Wimbledon in recent times, but until yesterday, tournament officials had refused to bow to pressure.

Last year, Scott blasted Wimbledon for a "Victorian era view" while Britain's Sports Minister Tessa Jowell had written to Phillips urging him to end the disparity.

Even British Prime Minister Tony Blair weighed into the debate when he backed the equal pay campaign in parliament during the 2006 championships.

"When Wimbledon pioneered Open tennis in 1968, the ladies singles champion Billie Jean King got 750 and Rod Laver got 2,000 pounds," Phillips said.

"So the ladies champion got 37.5 per cent of the money that the men's champion got. By stages that has moved up until in 2006 when Mauresmo won, the precise relativity was 95.4 per cent. So the champion was only getting 4.6 per cent less.