The Hindu : But, at Wimbledon, curtsy takes a bow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 01, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

But, at Wimbledon, curtsy takes a bow

Whether the peerless Pete Sampras (left, seen curtsying to the Royal Box on centrecourt at Wimbledon before playing Richey Reneberg) has taken his last bow at a championship he has won a record seven times or not remains to be seen. But even if the great man does return he will no longer be required to curtsy to the Royal Box at Wimbledon. The All England Club has done away with that tradition and curtsy will be seen only if Queen Elizabeth or Prince Charles are present in the Royal Box. — Gamma

LONDON APRIL 30. One of Wimbledon's most enduring traditions is finished — players will no longer have to bow or curtsy to the Royal Box at Centrecourt.

But while one custom fell, the All England Club confirmed that another will remain: men will be paid more than women.

Players have been required to bow or curtsy to the royal family when walking onto or leaving Centrecourt. From now on they will have to do so only if Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles, her eldest son and heir to the throne, is in the box.

The decision to scrap the tradition was made at the request of the Duke of Kent, who has been the All England Club's president since 1969. He and his wife, the Duchess of Kent, attend frequently each year and present the winners' trophies.

``It's been part of a discussion that's been going on for some time,'' The All England chief executive, Christopher Gorringe, said. ``It's sad, but we have to move on. We know there is very little bowing or curtsying done in royal circles now.''

The Queen hasn't attended Wimbledon since 1977 when she presented the women's trophy to Virginia Wade. Prince Charles made his only appearance in 1970.

British royalty has been associated with Wimbledon since 1907 when the Prince of Wales and Princess Mary watched from a temporary Royal Box. Before leaving the ground, the prince accepted an offer to become president of the All England Club and remained so until he became King George V in 1910.

Subsequent monarchs, including the current queen, have since all held the position of Patron of the Club.

Meanwhile, the Wimbledon prize money gap will continue at this year's tournament, which runs from June 23 to July 6.

The men's winner will receive £575,000 (US$914,250) and the women's champion will get £535,000 (US$850,650).

Lleyton Hewitt received £525,000 for winning last year, while Serena Williams earned £486,000.

``We like to think our prize money is driven by market data and fairness,'' the All England Club chairman, Tim Phillips, said.

He said Serena Williams left Wimbledon last year with more money than Hewitt because she also played in doubles, winning the title with sister Venus.

``The situation is that the women play much shorter matches while the men feel they cannot succeed in both singles and doubles,'' Phillips said.

``Serena Williams earned 11 per cent more than Lleyton Hewitt last year. She played 27 sets and Lleyton played 23 sets. She made more appearances, which lasted less time, and collected more money.

``The top 10 women earn 3 per cent more than the top 10 men. The men made £609 per game and the women £815. We feel we are not far away in terms of fairness with what we do.''

Total prize money for the grass-court tournament is going up 6.2 per cent to £9,373,990 (US$14.9 million). Overall prize money for both sexes is up 6.8 percent to £4,666,370 for men and £3,959,340 for women.

Wimbledon and the French Open give more money to the men. The two other Grand Slam tournaments, the U.S. Open and Australian Open, pay equal prize money.

The WTA chief executive, Larry Scott, said he was disappointed Wimbledon again ``failed to address the long-standing inequity between men's and women's prize money.''

There will be no prize money increase for doubles. ``We feel that doubles in today's market place has been ... over-rewarded in regards to singles,'' Mr. Phillips said.

Wimbledon organisers had not officially been contacted by the men's ATP Tour about their request for Grand Slams to commit more profits to prizes, health benefits and pension programmes.

``All Grand Slams are not-for-profit organisations,'' Mr. Phillips said. ``They do invest what they make back into the sport.''

He said Wimbledon had contributed $22 million to promoting the game worldwide since 1986 and helped fund International Tennis Federation programmes for development and drug testing.

``We do stuff internationally, but we are a British event in London,'' Mr. Phillips said. ``The majority of our investment back into the sport is in this country, which we say is not unreasonable.''

Wimbledon also reiterated plans to limit the number of fans lining up overnight to watch play on the middle Saturday of the two-week tournament.

Citing safety concerns, the club is reducing the number of Centrecourt tickets on sale for the middle Saturday from 2,000 to 500. — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport