Though the concept of equal prize money for the men’s and women’s singles events of major tennis tournaments has now become a well-ingrained idea, this has not always been the case. When Wimbledon first introduced prize money in 1968, the winner of the men’s singles event took home £2000 for winning, whereas the winner of the women’s singles event would take home just £750 in comparison. 

The process of closing the gap in prize money in Grand Slams has been a gradual process, and not all of the four tournaments moved at the same speed. The US Open was the first to make the move, paying its winners equal amounts from the 1973 edition onwards following the work of Billie Jean King, while the Australian Open permanently made the move to establish parity by 2001.

And what of SW19? A great deal of credit for Wimbledon’s decision to begin the practice of paying equal prize money can be given to Venus Williams. Already a legend of the grass who won her first Wimbledon title in 2000, Williams took it upon herself to lead the push to convince the All England Club in the early 2000s. 

Ahead of her 2005 final against compatriot Lindsay Davenport, she addressed a statutory body to present her arguments on the matter, and the following year, she penned an essay in The Times of London outlining her arguments. Williams would continue to be an advocate for equal pay, and by February 2007, Wimbledon had announced that it was offering equal prize money for men and women. 

It was only fitting then, that Williams would be the first player to be paid this equal prize money. On July 7 2007, Williams took to the court against Marion Bartoli in the final of the tournament, winning 6-4, 6-1 to seal her fourth Wimbledon title. With her victory, she secured £700,000 in prize money, which was crucially the same amount that Roger Federer would win for winning his final the following day. For the first time, the winners of the men’s and women’s singles events had been paid the same.