LTA promises equal prize money at Queen’s by 2029

The LTA has pledged to introduce equal prize money at Queen's and Eastbourne by no later than 2029.

The total prize fund for the WTA event at Queen's Club - which begins on Monday - will be $1.415m (£1.043m), with the LTA voluntarily increasing the standard prize money by a third.

However, that still comes nowhere near the amount the men will be paid for competing at the same venue the following week.

Minimum prize money levels are set by the tours, and the ATP tournament will offer a total prize fund of 2.522m euros (£2.122m).

Queen's Club is hosting a women's tournament for the first time since 1973, with Britons Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter set to compete.

Both the men's and women's events are '500' category tournaments - the third-highest tier after the Grand Slams and Masters 1000 events.

The ATP event at Queen's has already sold out, while just over 80% of the tickets have so far been bought for the women's tournament.

Ticket prices are lower in the WTA week, which will not yet be able to raise anything like the revenue of the long established men's event.

Money spent on prize money cannot also be spent on developing grassroots tennis in the UK, and the LTA says the summer events lost a total of £4m last year.

The LTA's promise to introduce equal prize money by 2029 is four years before the deadline set by the WTA.

While the WTA says major combined events should have equal prize money by 2027, standalone events - which the Queen's week technically is - have until 2033.

Eastbourne is a combined '250' event, and will feature both men and women in the week before Wimbledon.

The women's prize money is $389,000 (£286,650) - making it the highest-paying tournament of that size on the tour this year - while the men will share 756,875 euros (£637,000).

"The LTA is committed to growing women's tennis, both at professional and grass-roots level and this move is an important part of that commitment," said LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd.

"This year fans will be able to enjoy both men's and women's tennis on the biggest stages that we can offer.

"We want to develop the tournaments so that the women's events deliver a path to profitability and greater visibility for the sport."