World number one Iga Swiatek stated she hopes the governing body of the women’s game can do more to reinforce the tour in 2023 and similarly lessen pay disparity between the sexes outside the game’s largest tournaments.
Tennis has sought to be a pacesetter in the conflict for equality in the last couple of decades with equal prize money presented to men and women at the four Grand Slams.WTA Tour occasions, however, nevertheless regularly offer much less prize cash than the ones at the guys’s excursion which operates its very own circuit.
Swiatek stated one of the pinnacle priorities for the excursion as it celebrates its 50th anniversary have to be to make certain activities are extra attractive for players, sponsors, organisers and fans.
“For certain, I’d like to see the WTA increasing business-sensible, getting more famous, slicing the distinction among WTA and ATP in terms of prize cash and attracting lovers,” Swiatek instructed newshounds in Dubai.
A document in The Financial Times stated the ATP Tour as of halfway thru final 12 months offered gamers seventy five% greater prize money in tournaments – with the exception of the Grand Slams – than the women’s tour.
“Our tennis brings the identical emotions as men’s tennis … There’s something you can find in girls’s tennis that you’re now not going to find at the ATP,” Swiatek stated.Right now, after multiple years of hearing we’re no longer consistent, we’re clearly steady. There are pinnacle gamers who are playing superb in most of the tournaments.”
In a flow predicted to fee the affiliation hundreds of millions of bucks in broadcasting and sponsorship, the WTA suspended lucrative tournaments in China over issues for former doubles primary Peng Shuai.
She accused a senior Chinese government respectable of sexual assault in a 2021 social media post that turned into removed from the united states of america’s internet. She later denied making the accusation.
American Jessica Pegula, the sector wide variety three and a member of the WTA player council, echoed Swiatek. “I desire we are able to keep pushing for same prize cash at all activities, being on TV more,” Pegula stated.
She pointed to the United Cup combined team match earlier this season as a manner to achieve that. “We’re starting to see slowly, extra of it, especially with the United Cup, the reaction of absolutely everyone looking to see males and females playing on the same court docket, on the equal crew, which became truely fun for us. People love to see that.”