Wimbledon, April 24:

The total purse at Wimbledon will be nearly 10 per cent more than last year, with the male and female champion each taking home $1.4 million.

The only Grand Slam tournament on grass will offer $22,572,011 in all, an increase of 8.7 per cent. Wimbledon announced on February 22 it would pay men and women the same from the opening round to the final for the first time since it began paying players in 1968.

“No tennis tournament has ever offered higher prize money than Wimbledon in 2007,” All England Club chairman Tim Phillips said. Roger Federer earned $1.17 million in winning last year’s tournament, while Amelie Mauresmo took home $1.11 million.

Wimbledon, which runs from June 25 to July 8, also announced it would use instant replay for the first time, subject to final testing in May. The Hawk-Eye technology, used at the US Open for the first time last year and also at this year’s Australian Open, will be on Centre Court and court No 1 only.

Large screens to show the replays will be erected in the two courts. The exact protocol of Wimbledon’s Hawk-Eye system has yet to be established, but unlimited challenges were unlikely. The US and Australian Opens both offer a player two challenges on line calls per set.

“There are slightly different circumstances on a grass surface,” Wimbledon chief executive Ian Ritchie said. “So we’re looking at a bit of an alternative, maybe a bit of an extension.”