$1,200,000 vs. $120,000 Reality Draws ‘Insane’ Verdict from Maria Sharapova as She Minces No Words to Lay Bare a Terrible Truth

The disparity in pay between men and women is not a new topic. It has spread across industries, be it corporate, sports, or any other. Even after years of revolutionary steps taken against the disparity, it remains to stay. Even in tennis, the disparity in pay continues to disturb the female players as it is a thing that needs to change.

Just recently in an interview, Maria Sharapova opened up about the same topic. She talked about 2 major tournaments being held at the same time for men and women, and the disparity between the two is nothing short of insane even though they are both happening in China.

Maria Sharapova talks about the pay disparity between men and women quoting numbers from 2 tournaments

In an interview recently, Maria Sharapova was asked about merging the ATP and WTA into one big tournament. To which she responded that it was not going to happen anytime soon, and the reason she gave for the same was pay disparity.

She said, “There’s a men’s tournament happening in Shanghai with the winning prize of $1.2 million (Rolex Shanghai Masters (ATP event) – $1,262,220 for the winner) and in the same week, there’s a women’s tournament happening in China with the winner’s check at $120,000 (Zhengzhou Open (WTA event) – $120,150 for the winner). The disparity is insane.”

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According to Maria, the kind of disparity that exists between these tournaments clearly indicates that merging the ATP and WTA is a long shot. If it is merged, the pay disparity will be gone which for now doesn’t seem to be happening. She further also talks about the reason why this problem does not cease to exist.

Maria shines light on pay disparity not going away

In the same interview, she was asked by the interviewer about why she thinks this issue still exists and it does not go away. Maria explained that we are happy now that ATP and WTA grand slams have the same pay. But in the other 8-9 months when other tournaments are happening, the disparity still exists.

She also shared the reason behind it. Maria said that since there are so many entities involved and the owners of these tournaments are all aligned differently, having a common page for pay is not possible. Sharapova shared that it will eventually happen but it will take time.

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