Venus pays tribute to King after Wimbledon triumph

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) Venus Williams paid tribute to Billie Jean King today after she became the first women's champion at Wimbledon to earn as much money as the men's winner.

Williams boosted her bank balance by a cool 700,000 pounds (1.41 million dollar) after winning her fourth title at the All England Club but rather than the amount itself, she was delighted that women competitors had finally won the battle for equal pay.

''Of course now we have equal prize money. Billie Jean King fought for years and no one deserves this more than her,'' Williams told the Centre Court crowd as she clutched the Venus Rosewater Dish.

''She's done so much for women's tennis and I wouldn't be here without her and thank you to the All England Club for playing under equal terms.'' King, who has been credited with single-handedly changing the women's game, won 39 grand slam titles during a career that spanned almost a quarter of a century.

On her way to capturing 12 major singles titles, the first at Wimbledon in 1966, King tirelessly campaigned to gain recognition and respect for the women's game.

King's contribution was summed up when Life magazine named her in 1990 as one of the ''100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century.'' She was the only sportswoman on the list.

Her constant lobbying established the first successful women's professional tennis tour in 1970 and broke many barriers.

Such was her power that, after becoming the first sportswoman to earn 100,000 dollar in prize money in a year (1971), President Richard Nixon called to congratulate her.

She founded the Women's Tennis Association in 1973 before serving as its first president for two years.

But for King, her mission was far from accomplished.

Having received 15,000 dollar less than Ilie Nastase for winning the US Open in 1972, she threatened to boycott the event the following year if the prize money was not equalled.

In 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money.

It took another 34 years before the French Open and Wimbledon finally followed suit to end the annual debate about equality.

REUTERS SBC PM2240