Toronto, Canada) – The disparity in prize money between men and women in professional tennis, especially in smaller tournaments, has been heavily criticized by Denis Shapovalov. The 23-year-old Canadian and current 30th in the standings demanded from entities that promote the sport more equal conditions for the two circuits. He considers that while Grand Slam tournaments and major tournaments offer the bonuses, the situation at the bottom of the circuit is very different and could lead to an exodus of players.

“You travel all year round, you stay in hotels and you have to pay your training fees. The big stars don’t have to worry about that, but many on the tour are struggling to break even For these players, prize money doesn’t “mean anything. Win one more. It’s a question of survival. Unfortunately, it seems that if you are a woman, your chances of surviving as a professional tennis player are much lower, just because you are a woman,” Shapovalov wrote in an article in The players’ stand.

“The Grand Slam tournaments are going well. It’s also great that the WTA has made free accommodation mandatory and increased prize money in challenger level tournaments. Things are definitely moving in the right direction. But overall , the gap is still significant. “, added the Canadian. “As far as the prize money is concerned, anything other than full equality is not only unfair, but also makes it difficult to participate. If players are not treated fairly, some of them at lower levels might not continue. So we will have potential stars who have just left the sport. So let’s give everyone the same chance and pay the same prize money.”

Let’s stop talking about closing the gender gap.
If we want tennis to be fair, it must not exist at all. @PlayersTribune https://t.co/j8PnkfHaOw

—Denis Shapovalov (@denis_shapo) March 7, 2023

Coach’s mom and his tennis girlfriend got him thinking
The Canadian says that two people made him think about the subject: his mother, Tessa, who is a coach, and his girlfriend, the Swedish tennis player Mirjam Bjorklund, 145th in the ranking. “I was very naive about tennis. When I started I assumed that male and female pros were treated the same. Then I met my girlfriend, Mirjam Bjorklund, and she told me really an eye opener. A thousand dollars. Whereas we were getting about US$7 thousand”.

“It’s personal to me, and not just because of Mirjam. My mum, Tessa, was also a tennis player. She’s the reason I play tennis today. She started teaching me the tennis when I was five years old, one in Toronto where she worked. When I played her in the Soviet Union, she didn’t have the opportunity to realize her full potential because of the money. So she dedicated his adult life to give me this chance”.

He also countered some common criticisms that are made when the topic is offered. “Some say women don’t sell as many tickets, but when I go to games the stadiums are full. I was in the stands when Mirjam was playing Daria Saville at the WTA 250 in Washington last year. was full and the game was crazy. The quality was amazing”.

“Saville won that match in the third set tiebreaker and got $4,100. The men were playing a 500 tournament there at the same time and the first-round winners got $14,280. , they are different tournaments, but she got less than a third. And even compared to the ATP 250, the numbers don’t make sense. This WTA 250 had Jessica Pegula, who is in the top 10 in the world The champion won US$33,200. It may seem like a lot, but imagine how many years of hard work it takes to win a tournament like this. It’s crazy. So compare it to men’s tennis. J reached the ATP 250 Finals in Seoul last September and won $100,000. The numbers don’t even come close!”