Women players have again lost their battle for equal pay at Wimbledon but will still be better off this year after the All England Club announced record prize money for the 1998 championships from June 22nd to July 5th.
Total prize money has been increased by 4.7 per cent to £7,207,590, up from £6,884,952 last year, with the men's singles champion receiving £435,000 against £415,000 in 1997, and the women's singles champion £391,500 compared to £373,500.
John Curry, chairman of the All England Club, defended their decision not to agree to equal pay for women. "There is a whole number of factors which we take into account," he said.
"There is a greater demand for men's tennis and less depth in the women's game, even today with Venus Williams and Martina Hingis arriving, and this year there is no certainty that Monica Seles or Steffi Graf will play. We look at the situation every year but we believe we are being fair."
Curry added: "Why do people pay more in boxing for a heavyweight title fight than for a lightweight one?"
He also revealed that in a survey carried out during the 1997 championships the men's singles was the most popular event with a 71 per cent vote.
Both players and spectators will receive greater benefits this year. On the playing side, even firstround losers in the men's singles will receive a record £6,350 while first-round losers in the women's singles have also had an slight increase up to £5,060.
All players will receive expenses of £140 per day to help towards travel and accommodation costs and those in the qualifying tournament at Roehampton the previous week will receive £70 per day.
Older players have not been forgotten with £361,260 being allocated to the men's and women's over-45 and over-35 events.
As for spectators they can have no complaints if the weather is as bad as it was last year when two days were lost to rain. This year all categories of ticket holders will be eligible for a complete refund if play is washed out for the day and they will receive half the amount back if there is no play before 6pm.
Purchasers of ground passes will be eligible for a full refund if there is no play on Courts Two to 19. Tickets for the final Sunday are not included in the scheme because those tickets will be valid for admission on any subsequent days.
In recent years Wimbledon has not had so many top 20 players in the championships as compared to the French and US Opens because many clay-court specialists refuse to play on grass though they will play on American cement.
Curry said: "Of course we would like to see more of the top players at Wimbledon but I do believe in lots of ways they are the greatest losers.
"Agassi did not play for a couple of years and I think that he regrets that. I think Thomas Muster would have done quite well at Wimbledon. He did very well at Queen's one year.
"Clay-court players are ill advised not to play because people who can return service, and that is what clay-court players do best, often do well on grass.
"It's a great pity they don't play but we can't make them play and I don't think there is a change in players' views of playing or not playing."
Curry does not think that the Wimbledon prize money is too high even if some of the top players refuse to enter. "Wimbledon is acknowledged to be one of the world's top sporting events and it is our duty to ensure that to the players, paying spectators, the media and the many millions who watch on television, it remains so," he said.
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