​Iga Svyatek, who is in Madrid, where she is participating in the WTA 1000 tournament, is demanding equal prize money in world tennis between men and women, which is already happening at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Iga SvyatekPhoto: Kamran Jebreili/AP/Profimedia

Iga Sviatek says that sometimes WTA matches are more exciting than ATP matches

The Pole admits that tennis has a much better financial position than other sports, and she really wants the prize money to be equal between the two sports, the WTA and the ATP.

“There is still a lot to do (not in tennis) in terms of prize money equality in WTA tournaments compared to ATP tournaments.

The Grand Slams are already at the same level, which is good, but it would be good if the WTA focused on this topic, but I don’t want to say more because there is a lot of business and sometimes politics.

I can only say that it would be good for our sport to be equal, especially since we do almost the same work. Men’s tennis is more enjoyable to watch because the players can do more things by being physically and biologically stronger.

But women’s tennis is more stable in terms of play. Sometimes there were more emotions, because we are women and we give a little more emotions” – Iga Svyatekat a press conference held in Madrid.

Last week, Iga won the WTA 500 in Stuttgart and received a check for €104,478. At the same time, Carlos Alcaraz triumphed in Barcelona (ATP 500) and received 475,000 euros for his success.

Know:

  • The US Open was the first tournament to offer equal prize money for men and women. It happened at the 1973 show in Flushing Meadows.
  • Later in 2001, the Australian Open followed suit, and from 2007 Roland Garros and Wimbledon also offered equal prize money for men and women.
  • In the second round in Madrid, Iga Svyatek will meet Yulia Grabher (now 92nd in the world ranking).

The WTA Mutua Madrid Open takes place from April 25 to May 7 on clay in the Caja Magica complex. It is in the WTA 1000 category, has a total prize money of US$7,652,174, and the title holder is Ons Jabert. Simona Halep won in 2016 and 2017.