The total prize money for the 2000 championships has been increased 6.1 percent to 8.06 million pounds ($12.69 million). In a move organisers said would be ``aimed at recognising and further promoting an increase in the depth of the women's game,'' women's prize money would go up 7.9 percent compared with the 4.8 percent rise in the total men's money on offer.
But the women's champion will receive 430,000 pounds ($676,100) compared with the 477,500 ($750,800) won by the men's and the 7.9 percent increase in the women's prize money is largly due to the qualifying draw being increased to 96 players from 64.
Wimbledon chairman Tim Phillips said: ``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.
Equal prize money has developed into a major issue among women players who believe the rivalries between Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters has made the women's game more popular than the men's.
Only the U.S. Open of the four Grand Slams pays the same to the men's and women's singles champions.
POSSIBLE BOYCOTT
Last year Wimbledon organisers slammed women's demands for equality as unreasonable and damaging. In January Hingis talked of a possible boycott by women if the increasing popularity of women's tennis was not matched by equal prize money.
Phillips said he had met with leading WTA officials in February and they had given him data to back up their demands in a subsiquent letter.
He called the meeting a ``useful exchange'' but said prize money parity was ``pretty unlikely in the forseeable future at Wimbledon.''
He added: ``It is clearly a sensative issue but our view is driven by market place considerations. We are trying overall to be fair and believe where we have ended up is fair.''
Wimbledon organisers say their surveys show men's tennis is more popular with their spectators than women's. They also say the top women routinely take away more money from Wimbledon than the top men because players such as defending champion Pete Sampras and world number one Andre Agassi could not fit doubles into their Wimbledon schedules.
Last year's champion Lindsay Davenport won both the singles and doubles titles, winning 497,935 pounds ($782,800) compared with Sampras's 455,000 pounds ($715,400).
This year's championships take place from June 26 to July 9.