Tennis is evolving at a lightning speed, with changes sweeping across the sport worldwide. But despite all the progress, one debate refuses to die down—discrimination between men’s and women’s tennis. It’s a topic that has continued to simmer in the background, with many experts frequently calling out the bias they see on and off the courts. And now, with the dust barely settled on the Six Kings Slam where Jannik Sinner clinched the title, and the WTA Finals just around the corner, the conversation has sparked up once again. This time, the spotlight falls on American journalist Jon Wertheim, who’s leading the charge. 

Wertheim engaged in an interview with Andy Roddick for the latter’s Served With Roddick Podcast, a snippet of which was shared on Instagram on Thursday, October 24. The senior journalist called out the biases in men’s and women’s sports and questioned if more focus and funds were given to an unlisted exhibition event for men in Saudi Arabia than the flagship year-end event for women. 

When Roddick quizzed whether the Saudis are  “overpaying for the Athletes,” Wertheim had a strong opinion to share. “You know the other thing too, just doing the back of the envelope math, are we now, am I wrong in this or is more money being spent on this three-day silly exhibition than it’s being spent on the women’s flagship year-end event?” he questioned. His pragmatic questions raise substantial doubts. 

For the unversed, the winner of the Six Kings Slam, Jannik Sinner was awarded a whopping prize money of $6 Million. This represented 50% of Sinner’s total 2024 on-court winnings of $12,032,935 this year. Besides, the other five players who participated in the tournament were paid $1.5 million each just for their participation. And guess what? The tournament is not even recognized by the ATP tour. On the contrary, the Women’s prize pool for the WTA Finals highlights some differences. 

In 2023, the total prize pool for the WTA Finals event held in Cancun was capped at $9M, which was $4.5 Million less than the three-day exhibition event in Riyadh. A player could win up to $3 million by going undefeated at the WTA Finals to win the singles title last year. For this year too, the total prize pool stands at $15.25 Million for the event scheduled in Riyadh between November 2- November 9. While there is a substantial increase, the number of players is also more in the WTA Finals compared to the Six Kings Slam. 

It was in 1973 when the US Open announced equal pay for male and female players. But for the other Grand Slam tournaments to follow suit, it took around 3 decades, with the Australian Open paying equally since 2001, and the French Open and Wimbledon joining the movement only in 2007. This has been called out several times by many people in the circuit including Rafael Nadal. 

When Rafael Nadal voiced his concerns over equal payment in tennis

Female players and activists have often voiced concerns over the alleged bias in terms of payments in tennis. There have been several forerunners demanding a change including Billie Jean King, Venus Williams, and others. The ATP players haven’t failed to show their support either. When quizzed about the issue, Rafael Nadal had a remarkable perspective to share. 

Earlier this year, Nadal expressed his support for equal pay for both ATP and WTA players. “I don’t want to be hypocritical and say things that are easy to say and that I don’t feel. What do you want me to say? For me, the investment for women should be the same as for men,” said the 22-time major champion. “The opportunities, the same. The salaries, the same? No, for what? It’s not unfair, what’s unfair is that there isn’t equal opportunity.” 

For now, it would be interesting to see if more voices join Wertheim in calling out the income disparity in tennis and if the WTA Finals organizers issue a clarification over the matter.