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The chief executive of Britain's Lawn Tennis Association has backed calls for Wimbledon to introduce equal prize money for women.
"Tennis needs to be a modern sport and one which reflects the wider world," Roger Draper said in comments distancing himself from the stance taken by the All England Club, which jointly hosts the Grand Slam tournament with the LTA.
Wimbledon's stance on the issue had come under pressure in recent weeks from the British government and the women's tour, the WTA.
The men's champion at this year's Wimbledon will walk away with a cheque for 655,000 pounds (1.2 million dollars), 40,000 pounds (72,000 dollars) more than the winner of the women's singles. The total prize fund for men's events is 5,197,440 pounds, compared to 4,446,490 pounds for the women's events.
Tim Phillips, the chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, has defended Wimbledon's policy largely on the grounds that the men play five-set matches, compared to three for the women.
"It's a judgement -- we don't see it as an equal rights issue," Phillips said earlier this month.
The US and Australian Open have equal prize funds for men and women. The French Open awards equal amounts to the singles winners but still has a higher overall prize fund for men.
am/dj/mo06
Tennis-Wimbledon-WTA-pay
AFP 261609 GMT 06 06
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