"The women have just about had it" - Tennis fans furious over enormous pay gap between men and women at Italian Open 2023

Tennis fans erupt over huge pay gap between men and women
Tennis fans erupt over huge pay gap between men and women

Tennis fans have expressed disappointment with the significant difference in the prize money between men and women, especially at the 2023 Italian Open.

The ongoing tournament in Rome will offer both men's and women's champions 1,000 points, with best-of-three matches and the same ticket price. However, the fact that the men's runner-up will walk away with more money than the women's champion is unacceptable to a section of the tennis world. While the ATP winner will receive €1,105,265, the WTA winner will get €521,754.

Apart from the four Grand Slam tournaments, only the BNP Paribas Open, the Miami Open, and the Madrid Open reward men and women with the same amount of money.

Another gender-based controversy arose in Madrid recently when Carlos Alcaraz was presented with a much larger cake than Aryna Sabalenka as they celebrated their birthdays on May 5.

Fans raised concerns about the growing disparity between the two genders, saying that it required changes at the grassroots level with more investment and marketing for women's tennis.

"Before anyone comments about less revenue. Remember that women's tennis gets less investment, coverage, and scheduling. The sexist culture goes much further than prize money and it can't be explained away by revenue," a fan tweeted.
"Madrid with equal prize money but women treated with misogyny and as 2nd class, now sexist Rome with half prize money for women v men. The example tennis is setting is unacceptable. @wta @atptour @MutuaMadridOpen @InteBNLdItalia should all be ashamed. Please player boycotts," a user wrote.
"The fact that #cakegate might have been the straw that breaks the camel’s back is incredible. A comedy of errors that will hopefully lead to equal pay and other solutions," another tweet read.

Here are some more fan reactions:


Tennis players' take on unequal prize money for men and women

Ons Jabeur (L) and Paula Badosa
Ons Jabeur (L) and Paula Badosa

Ons Jabeur and Paula Badosa are part of the Novak Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and they recently joined Denis Shapovalov to call for equal pay. Jabeur said:

“It’s really frustrating. It’s time for change. It’s time for the tournament to do better.”

Badosa questioned tournament organizers, saying:

“I don’t know why it’s not equal right now. They don’t inform us. They say this is what you get and you have to play.”

In March, Shapovalov lent his support to women players, saying they deserved the same opportunities as men.

"When I started out, I kind of assumed that male and female pros were treated the same way," Shapovalov wrote. "Unfortunately, it seems that if you are a female player, your chances of surviving as a pro are a lot lower because you are a woman. You should be given the same opportunities regardless of gender, color, race, regardless of anything."

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