Wimbledon champions to get million-pound prize

Winners of this year's Wimbledon singles titles will not only own the world's greatest grasscourt title but also a cool 1 million pounds ($1.53 million) in prize money, organisers said on Tuesday.

The winners of the men's and women's singles titles at the All England Club will each net the sum, an increase of 150,000 pounds from 2009 and a near doubling of the amount from 10 years ago.

"It is important we offer a level of prize money which is both appropriate to the prestige of the event and which gives the players full and fair reward," Tim Phillips, chairman of the All England Club, said.

Total prize money for the June 21-July 4 event is 13.725 million, an increase of 1.175 million from last year. Each runner-up will receive 500,000 pounds.