ATP and WTA have worked hard to allow players to return to the competition after long interruptions in the two courses due to the health emergency. The tournaments had to guarantee maximum safety for everyone involved in the events and were therefore forced to cut the prize money allocated in previous seasons by half.
The dire situation every organization faced has made the differences between men’s and women’s tennis even clearer.
Alize Cornet’s outburst on the differences between ATP and WTA
In an interesting interview with L’Equipe, Alize Cornet expressed her concern about the future of the WTA Tour.
“We are suffering a lot, especially since we have a lot of money from Asia,” said the French player. “If I understand correctly, the WTA finals in Shenzhen account for 50% of WTA income. Since the tournament was not played and Asia closed its borders until at least March, we are in survival mode.
Small events in women’s tennis are not very profitable and it is very difficult to ensure their survival. My heart hurts when I watch the men and women tour. When they talk about equality and gender equality, it makes me laugh.
“When asked if it was a mistake to bet so much on the Asian season, Cornet replied: Was it a mistake or did the WTA have no choice? I can’t comment. When you get such great deals …
Your job is to make money. If the tour stopped in Europe and the United States, we’d all be paid less. It’s a double-edged sword. Our greatest chance is to compete in the Grand Slam tournaments, but to enter you must be in the top 100.
I’m worried about all the top 100 players and I’m making progress thanks to the smaller tournaments. It’s a shame because the WTA has done a very good job over the past few years. It’s a severe blow and it will take years to recover.
“Thanks to Roger Federer’s proposal, there was talk of a merger between ATP and WTA during detention. A project that, according to Cornet, seems to have been neglected. “Is it really still in the plans? I haven’t heard from him since.
It all started with good intentions, but frankly it seemed like lightning in the pan. We talked about it, Steve Simon (WTA CEO) was very excited and then nothing. Maybe they’re working in the shadows on this project and we don’t know. ”
