Wimbledon 2018: Tennis chief risks sexism row by dismissing call to boost profile of women's singles

Chief executive Richard Lewis dismissed a suggestion from former champion Chris Evert that Wimbledon could change its schedule to give more prominence to the women’s singles.

Traditionally the men’s singles champion opens proceedings on Centre Court on the first Monday of the tournament and the final of that event is the culmination of the championships on the final day.

Three-time Wimbledon champion Evert told The Times she would like to see those honours alternated between the men and women – currently the women’s champion always plays the opening match on Centre on the first Tuesday, with the women’s final the day before the men’s showpiece.

But Lewis said: “There’s a long history and tradition of the men’s singles champion opening up at 1pm on Centre Court on the Monday and the focus on the ladies’ singles champion starting on the Tuesday. I think it works very well.

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“We’ve always been very proud of having standalone quarter-finals, semi-finals and final for the ladies’ singles, we think it gives a great focus on the ladies’ singles event, and we think the ladies’ final on the Saturday works very well.”

There has been an increasing focus in recent years on the discrepancy between the number of women’s matches and men’s matches on Centre and Number One. A higher number of men’s matches have been played on those courts, analysis has shown.

It was revealed last month a survey conducted by the club asked fans whether they would like to see an equal split of matches, but Lewis does not expect anything significant to change.

Chris Evert in action during her playing days (GETTY IMAGES)

He said: “We’ve always had a policy of putting on the marquee matches on Centre and Number One and there’s been no change to that. We do lots of surveys. We know the general feedback is (fans) like to see a variety of tennis. The feedback is put the best matches on Centre and Number One.”

The schedule for the opening day’s play showed two men’s matches on Centre compared to one women’s, with the reverse on Court One.

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There will be no shift, meanwhile, in Wimbledon’s policy only to show tennis on screens in the grounds. That will remain the case even if England reach the World Cup final, which is almost certain to clash with the men’s singles final.

The World Cup final kicks off at 4pm on July 15, two hours after the tennis starts.

Lewis: “It’s not a concern. The World Cup is a great sports event and we hope England do well. We only ever show tennis, that’s always been our policy, and we’ll continue to do that.

“We were aware of the date and the time of the final, we were very comfortable with it. We’re not driven by short-term decisions, whether it be TV ratings or sponsorship or anything. This is for this year, it’s a one-year happening and, for the future, we’ll still be at 2pm on the Sunday.”