​After world leader Iga Svyatek, it was the turn of another top athlete to demand equal awards in tennis between women and men. While in Rome, where she is participating in the tournament at the Foro Italico, Ons Jabert is calling on the leaders of the white sport to equalize the prize money between the WTA and the ATP in all competitions.

Ons JaberPhoto: USA TODAY Network / ddp USA / Profimedia

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Ons Jaber on the monetary equality of women and men: “I don’t understand why we have to wait”

“I don’t understand why we have to wait. This is disappointing. It’s time for a change. It’s time for the tournament to do the right thing,” Ons Jaber said in an interview with the New York Times.

The same opinion is held by Paula Badosa, the former holder of the 2nd place in the WTA hierarchy.

“I don’t understand why there is no draw now (not at the tournament in Rome). We were not notified. They said this is what we get and we have to play,” Paula Badosa.

The Rome tournament offers different prizes for women and men. According to the idea, the prizes for the women’s picture are 3.5 million euros, and for the men’s – 7.7 million euros.

The Grand Slam tournaments are aligned with WTA requirements, offering equal prize money for men and women.

Angelo Binagi, president of the Italian Tennis Federation, said that intensive work is underway to ensure that the awards in Rome are equal between women and men in the future.

All tournaments are played on a single system: best of three sets, with the exception of Grand Slam tournaments. The main tournaments among men are played on the principle of the best of five sets.

The tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid (category 1000 and Masters respectively, as in Rome) offer the same prize money for women and men.

According to a Financial Times report, the ATP offered 75% more prize money than the WTA in 2022, the biggest gap since 2001.

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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.