Last year Venus Williams became the first black woman since Althea Gibson (1957 and 1958) to win Wimbledon and now, like Gibson, she’s a repeat champion. On Sunday Williams defeated Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. However, William’s prize of $647,500 amounts to 84% of male champion Goran Ivanisevic’s awardÑa disparity that Wimbledon has made no attempts to rectify despite the fact that 2 of the other 4 Grand Slam tournaments award equal prize amounts. While praising the Australian Open’s decision to equalize award amounts, Women’s Tennis Association chief executive officer Bart McGuire justified the equal pay as matter of fairness. “Women’s tennis has generated record attendance and extraordinary worldwide publicity, as well as dramatically increased television coverage and television ratings.”
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