WIMBLEDON, England Feb 22, 2007 (AP)— After years of holding out against equal prize money, Wimbledon bowed to public pressure Thursday and agreed to pay women players as much as the men at the world's most prestigious tennis tournament.

The All England Club announced at a news conference that it had decided to fall into line with other Grand Slam events and offer equal pay through all rounds at this year's tournament.

"Tennis is one of the few sports in which women and men compete in the same event at the same time," club chairman Tim Phillips said. "We believe our decision to offer equal prize money provides a boost for the game as a whole and recognizes the enormous contribution that women players make to the game and to Wimbledon.

"In short, good for tennis, good for women players and good for Wimbledon."

Last year, men's champion Roger Federer received $1.170 million and women's winner Amelie Mauresmo got $1.117 million.

The U.S. Open and Australian Open have paid equal prize money for years. The French Open paid the men's and women's champions the same for the first time last year, although the overall prize fund remained bigger for the men.

The head of the French Tennis Federation, Jean-Francois Vilotte, suggested that the French Open could follow Wimbledon's example, though no decision is expected before the federation's next meeting March 16.

Equal pay is on the agenda for that meeting.

The federation "doesn't plan to sit on the decisions of 2006," Vilotte told the AP by telephone.

Equal pay "is an important recognition of the quality and exemplarity of women's tennis," Vilotte said.

Phillips said the Wimbledon committee met Monday and agreed unanimously "that the time is right to bring this subject to a logical conclusion and eliminate the difference."

He said "broader social factors" played a part in the decision.

"This is a private tennis club," Phillips said. "We don't have public funds given to us each year. We have to justify the decisions we make. This year we've made our judgment and judged it on what we believe to be the best for Wimbledon."

ABC News