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The Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2006 have begun. Wimbledon is a place in south-west London. Tennis championships have taken place there every year since 1877. And, because this is England, there are important traditions about tennis at Wimbledon.

Tradition 1 – the spectators drink champagne and eat strawberries (if they can afford to)
Tradition 2 – English players do not win. Every year people say that this year Tim Henman will win the men’s championship. He never does.
Tradition 3 – it always rains. This year there was only one hour’s play on the first day because of rain.
Tradition 4 – the winner of the men’s championship gets more prize money than the winner of the women’s championship.

But many people say that this is wrong. Wimbledon is now the only big tennis championship where the prizes for men and women are not the same. Venus Williams, last year’s women’s champion, says, “For us, it’s about equality. It’s about treating a human as a human, no matter what the sex is. It’s about a premier women’s sport setting an example all around the world.”

The organisers of Wimbledon point out that the men players play matches with 5 sets, while the women play only 3 sets. Therefore it is only fair that the men’s prizes are larger. They also say that men’s tennis attracts more money from ticket sales and sponsorship, for example, that women’s tennis does. But other people dispute this.

I think that the prizes for men and women should be the same. What do you think?

Photo of Venus Williams by rickydiver78/flickr

  

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