( CNN ) -- Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams are set to receive big pay rises if they successfully defend their Wimbledon singles titles this year . Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams parade their winning trophies from Wimbledon last year . This year 's men 's and women 's champions will walk away with £850,000 ( $ 1.24 million ) , an increase of 13.3 percent , although in dollar teams a decrease because of the weakened British pound . All England Club chairman Tim Phillips said the increase was necessary to offset exchange rate implications and to help maintain the tournament 's standing among players . `` Most of the players here do n't bank in sterling , '' Phillips told Press Association . `` We have to be mindful of the fact that a year ago it was two dollars to the pound and now it 's less than one pound fifty . '' Overall prize money on a sterling basis is going up by 6.2 percent from £11.8 million to £12.55 million ( $ 18.38 million ) . The money is distributed equally for the men 's and women 's events with Wimbledon adopting this policy in 2007 following criticism from officials and players . New developments for 2009 are highlighted by the Centre Court sliding roof with capacity on the ground increased by 3,500 to 40,000 . The cash-rich All England Club also announced a five-year extension of its contract with sponsors IBM . In other tennis news , Gael Monfils could miss next month 's French Open because of a left knee injury . The Frenchman reached the semifinals at Roland Garros last year , but was quoted in sports daily L'Equipe on Tuesday saying that the results of an MRI scan on his knee were `` not good . '' .
Wimbledon say weakened pound forced them into big prize money increases . In sterling terms winners of singles titles will receive 6.2 percent increase . All England Club will benefit from new sliding roof on Wimbledon Tuesday .