The timing could not be better for a unique pro tennis event of this caliber.
On June 27, the WTA announced a new tour structure with a pathway toward equal prize money for women players with men at all top-level events by 2033. Equal pay for women tennis players is a goal envisioned 50 years ago when Billie Jean King founded the WTA.
“Fifty years after the players found strength in unity, I’m proud the WTA continues to be a global leader focused on providing opportunities, and hope that women in other sports and walks of life are inspired by its example,” WTA founder King said in a statement.
The ATP-WTA pay gap has been widening in recent years, so this is an important commitment by the WTA. This new path forward will ensure the best WTA players are featured at the biggest events and provide additional tournament opportunities for lower-ranked players.
The U.S. Open in 1973 became the first Grand Slam tournament to offer equal prize money to men and women competitors, but it wasn’t until 2007 that all four of the Grand Slams — the Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open — offered equal prize money.
And many tournaments still offer unequal prize money. Today, there is the biggest gap between male and female prize money since 2001. While 2023 marks the 50-year anniversary of Billie Jean King’s landmark victory of equal prize money at the U.S. Open, male players earn 75 percent more than female players (excluding Grand Slams), the Financial Times reports.
According to The Washington Post, at the 2022 Italian Open, Novak Djokovic earned more than $900,000 for winning the men’s tournament, while Iga Swiatek took home about $365,000 for winning the women’s title.
A few years ago, The New York Times reported that the annual prize money for the top 100 women prize winners in the WTA was roughly 80 cents to every dollar earned by the top 100 men in the ATP.
Players are happy to see tennis moving to close the pay gap.
“Every generation contributes to preserving the future of their sport, striving to leave it in a better state for the next,” said Sloane Stephens, WTA player and players’ council member, in a statement. “I take pride in being a part of this evolution and fully support the WTA’s commitment to progress.”
Tennis has come a long way since Billie Jean King hosted the BMC Invitational in 1971 at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. That was the first all-women’s pro tennis tournament.
This is another watershed moment in pro tennis.
