French Open will award equal pay

Justine Henin won the 2006 women's title in Paris

French Open officials have announced that they will award equal prize money to men and women from this year.

The tournament has been isolated after Wimbledon joined the United States and Australian Opens in opting to pay equal money across the board in all events.

The event had previously offered the same amount of money only to the champions and not in earlier rounds.

"The fact that all four Grand Slams are now equal sends an incredibly powerful signal," said Belgium's Justine Henin.

"There is no tournament that I feel closer to than Roland Garros, which makes the decision to treat the woman as equals very special to me personally."

606: DEBATE Do you agree with this decision?

And WTA chief executive officer Larry Scott also voiced his delight at the decision.

"This closes one chapter in the history of tennis and opens an exciting new one that will positively impact opportunities for women and girls in sport and society," he said.