In a meeting with Wimbledon officials, top women tennis players demanded that they receive prize money equal to the men for the Wimbledon championships.
This year, the overall prize money was increased 6.1 percent to $12.69 million with a 7.9 percent increase in the women’s prize money, but the men’s champion will receive $73,900 more than the women.
The players argue that the prize money ought to be distributed equally for women and men because women’s tennis has become more popular than men’s.
Wimbledon officials dismissed their demand, claiming that “We have set a level of prize money which is in keeping with the stature of the event and which is attractive and fair to all the players.”
The U.S. Open is the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments that pays the same prize money to women and men.
