With an actually harmless tweet, the women’s tennis world association WTA drew the anger of some fans at the weekend.
What happened? Before the final of the WTA tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic, between Barbora Krejcikova and world number one Iga Swiatek, the association tweeted a reference to the prize money that the winner would take home. In this case it was about 93,823 euros.
What got some fans upset: At the same time, two finals of the ATP tour took place in Tokyo and Astana. Like the Ostrava event, these were two 500-series tournaments. But there was much more at stake than “just” almost 94,000 euros.
Novak Djokovic pocketed a whopping 366,000 euros for his success against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Astana final. Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz was even able to look forward to 376,000 euros after beating Frances Tiafoe in the final in Tokyo. Both received around four times what Krejcikova won for their tournament wins. A circumstance that upset some fans.
WTA in the pillory: “It’s disappointing”
“That’s no reason to be proud,” wrote a fan of the prize money picture that the WTA tweeted. Another user said: “WTA prize money is a sad joke. These women earn more. They work just as hard as the men. […] That’s disappointing.” Another fan advised the WTA: “I wouldn’t advertise the prize money if a winner got around 350,000 euros in an ATP 500 tournament.”
The WTA did not comment on the recent criticism of the imbalance between the prize money of women and men. However, the association is only partially responsible for the prize money at its own tournaments. Ultimately, it is primarily the sponsors and TV stations that determine how much there is in the end. A bad picture, that much is undisputed, is still given by the association.
