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London (dpa) - Wimbledon organisers said Tuesday that the men's singles winner will continue to get more money than the women's champion, and were instantly slammed for it by the women's side.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam to pay the men's champion more than the women's title holder, a difference of 30,000 pounds (53,600 dollars) at this year's edition June 26-July 9.
"Wimbledon needs to do the right thing and finally pay the women the same as the men," said Venus Williams, the current holder at the All England club.
Russian Maria Sharapova, 19, who won the 2004 grass tournament as a teenager and became the most marketable - and best-paid - young faces in the game, agreed.
"Women players are getting as many sponsors and media coverage as the men, and I understand that our TV ratings at the Grand Slams are pretty much equal to and often better than the men," she said. "I don't understand the rationale for paying the men more than us."
Larry Scott, head of the women's WTA Tour, lashed out in a statement: "Women got the vote in Britain in 1918, and the Sex Discrimination Act has been in force for over 30 years, yet Wimbledon continues to take a Victorian era view when it comes to pay."
The All England Club said that the men's winner will receive 655,000 pounds (1.17 million dollars, 946,000 euros) and the women's champion 625,000 pounds (1.1 million dollars, 903,000 euros).
Overall, The Championships has laid on a 2.9 per cent rise in prize money which leaves the total payout at 10,378,710 pounds (18.1 million dollars).
"No tournament paid higher prize money than Wimbledon in 2005 and so far in 2006, and this increase further recognizes the talent and commitment needed by top tennis players nowadays," said club chairman Tim Phillips.
Earlier this year, the Australian Open lifted the women's payout to the level of the men, a practice which began at the US Open some years ago.
The French Open will next month will have identical winners cheques of 940,000 euros (1.13 million dollars), but the overall prize money remains higher for men out of a total 14.3 million euros (17.1 million dollars).
"Roland Garros has taken a very small step in the right direction (with equal payout for singles winners). Players won't be satisfied until all of us - not just one out of 128 - are treated equally with the men," said Williams.
Looking at Wimbledon, Scott said: "(We) are deeply disappointed that Wimbledon has failed to do the right thing, and continues to promote inequality in pay across the board between men and women.
"It's surprising that Wimbledon, which has been such a leader in our sport, has chosen to lag behind the other Grand Slams on the issue of equality.
"In the 21st century, it is morally indefensible that women competitors in a Grand Slam tournament should be receiving considerably less prize money than their male counterparts," he said.
Meanwhile, Wimbledon also revealed that sporting goods maker adidas has filed a lawsuit against the club, the three other Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation over a ruling which classifies its trademark three stripes as a logo instead of a design element.
Adidas are under fire from most major sanctioning bodies in the game in an effort to reign in logos on apparel intensifies.
The company has asked for an injunction to prevent the implementation of the rule at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships and, secondly, to pursue a claim for alleged damages incurred as a consequence of the rule.
"We believe that the adidas legal case is totally without foundation and The Championships, the Club, the other Grand Slams and the ITF will vigorously defend the actions," said a Wimbledon statement.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
