‘We Are Even More Consistent That the Guys’- Iga Swiatek Takes Down the Male Tour After Massive Prize Money Insult
Pay disparity between men and women is evident in all professions. Even in sports, there exists a pay gap between the two divisions. However, great strides have been made as the pay gap is reducing in tennis. Several competitions such as the Grand Slams have equal prize money for male and female players. Polish tennis player, Iga Swiatek, is someone who is frequently asked about pay disparity in tennis. In one of the recent responses, the 21-year-old commented on how the pay gap can be fixed.
Iga Swiatek is one of the proponents in the fight for equal pay between male and female players. The WTA number 1 has, along with several other players such as Jessica Pegula, advocated for bridging the disparity.
Swiatek recently triumphed at the recent Stuttgart Open, receiving hefty prize money of 100,000 euros. However, the prize money of 475,000 euros received by Carlos Alcaraz overshadowed Swiatek’s. The pay gap between the two divisions was glaringly obvious.
Swiatek believes that tennis can pave the way to equality better than most other sports around the world. She added that she believes many tournaments can get equal prize money for both WTA and ATP. “But still, there is a lot we can work on in terms of, you know, getting equal prize money on some WTA tournament compared to ATP on the same level. Grand Slams are already even, as we know. That’s nice, but for sure it would be good if WTA would focus on that, but I don’t really want to get into that, because it’s a lot of business and sometimes politics,” said Swiatek.