In 2005, Venus Williams joined Billy Jean King, Maria Sharapova, Chris Evert and others in the crusade to convince Wimbledon and the French Open to offer equal prizes to men and women. Venus was backed by Tony Blair after a poignant letter to the London Times which she called Wimbledon on the "wrong side of history." Over the next two years, Venus led the campaign for gender equality and in February 2007, both Wimbledon and the French Open changed their policies. That same year, Venus won Wimbledon, earning the same prize as Roger Federer.