The WTA Finals are rolling out record-breaking prize money as the tennis world braces for another round of negotiations with players asking for more money from tournaments.
“I think it is an amazing effort for WTA to achieve this record prize money, not only the highest at WTA, but in tennis in general,” said Elina Svitolina, the 2018 WTA Finals singles champion. “That’s a big achievement for WTA Tour, and hopefully we can do even more in the future.”
The tour’s season finale, held Sunday through Nov. 3 in Shenzhen, China, is offering $14 million in total prize money, with $4.75 million going to the winner, but only if she finishes round-robin format undefeated.
Eight of the last 16 WTA Finals winners have gone undefeated, which places a former champion like Svitolina in contention for the prize money windfall.
“I don’t really think of my chances,” Svitolina said. “I try to go with a fresh mind and to approach this tournament as all the other ones. Of course, it’s very special because it gathers only the eight best players in the world. For me last year, it definitely gave the confidence and this push to play well at the Grand Slams. I’m very motivated to come and play.”
The WTA Finals total prize money of $14 million tops the tour, followed by Indian Wells and the Miami Open at $9 million, the China Open at $8.2 million and the Madrid Open at $7.8 million.
In comparison to the $4.75 million prize money for the undefeated winner, the men’s equivalent, the ATP Finals, pays out only $2.7 million, Wimbledon $3 million and the United States Open $3.8 million. It also eclipses other major sports tournaments, including the Masters at $2 million and the Women’s World Cup at $4 million.
The tournament’s purse was doubled this year by its primary sponsor, Shiseido, a Japanese cosmetics company. Women have been fighting for better prize money for years, and the WTA said the large purse was an indicator of the growth of women’s tennis.
“It’s a reflection of the value of our sport and our athletes,” said Steve Simon, the WTA chief executive. “We are looking for a long-term investment. We had no pushback in the marketplace with respect to getting the compensation level up for the athletes to the record levels that we’ve achieved.”
The latest plea for increased prize money came from a group of players, including Sloane Stephens, Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, seeking an increased percentage of the revenue cut from the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
The group is asking tournament leaders for more transparency in how major tournaments determine prize money and to pay more to increase the number of tennis players able to make a living.
“The idea is to get what players deserve and to grow the sport and to turn it from having 100 players able to make a living to suddenly 300,” Pospisil told The Times this month.
The WTA Tour is not directly affected by the prize money negotiations with the four Grand Slam events, which operate individually, though many tour players are involved.
A majority of the top 100 WTA players signed a letter of engagement with the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright to represent them in negotiations with the Grand Slam tournaments, Stephens told The Times. Pospisil said a majority of the top 100 men also had signed the letter.
“Regardless of the number, the bottom line is that we players just want to make sure there is a fair distribution of revenue,” Stephens said.
The fight for increased prize money and equal pay is not new. It began in earnest in 1970 with Billie Jean King after she won the Italian Open in Rome, taking home $600 and the men’s winner $3,500. In a statement, she called for equal pay. “Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs, and I want women to have the cake, the icing and the cherry on top too,” she said.
Advances and setbacks followed. Serena Williams raised the issue again in a letter published in 2016. “When the subject of equal pay comes up, it frustrates me because I know firsthand that I, like you, have done the same work and made the same sacrifices as our male counterparts. I would never want my daughter to be paid less than my son for the same work. Nor would you.
“People call me one of the ‘world’s greatest female athletes.’ Do they say LeBron is one of the world’s best male athletes? Is Tiger? Federer? Why not? They are certainly not female. We should never let this go unchallenged. We should always be judged by our achievements, not by our gender.”
During a news conference at last year’s WTA Finals in Singapore, Chris Evert underscored the equal amount of work women and men do preparing for tournaments.
“I think that equal-prize-money issue is like it’s just a no-brainer,” Evert said. “I mean, it’s like why not equal prize money? The women are doing everything that the men are doing.”
Simon said the WTA had prioritized paying its athletes record-level prize money and welcomed the discussion.
“We are doing everything we can to continue to raise the compensation levels for women athletes,” he said. “The sport of tennis deserves a lot of credit with regards to equal pay. But we still have work to do in our lower levels. There are certainly challenges. All of our events have been increasing our prize money. The growth over the last 10 years has been consistent, and it’s moving forward at a good rate. It’s a great sign for our athletes.”
Svitolina said that the increased money was not everything, but that it did play a factor. “It’s definitely something that motivates you.”
