The winners of the men's and women's singles titles at this year's Wimbledon Championships will earn a record £1m.

The All England Club has increased the winners' prize money by £150,000 to offset the fall in value of the British pound against the dollar and euro.

The rise means the men's prize money has doubled over the past 10 years.

"We need to offer prize money that is commensurate with the tournament and competitive in the market," said All England Club chairman Tim Phillips.

"It's important that 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."

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In addition, the sliding roof over Centre Court has been adapted to allow it to be deployed at each end to shade spectators from strong sunlight.

And this year's Championships, which run from 21 June to 4 July, have been declared a World Cup-free zone, with the All England Club refusing to show matches from South Africa on the big screen or other public areas.

Phillips added: "This is arguably the leading tennis tournament in the world and people come here to watch tennis.

"If people want to watch the World Cup they should go to South Africa or watch it on the TV."

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