Aryna Sabalenka demands ‘equal pay’ for female tennis players after receiving half in prize money than Jannik Sinner at Cincinnati Open

Aryna Sabalenka has called for equal pay after the stark difference in prize money came to light at the Cincinnati Open.

Aryna Sabalenka demands ‘equal pay’ for female tennis players after receiving half in prize money than Jannik Sinner at Cincinnati Open

Jannik-Sinner-Aryna-Sabalenka

Belarusian tennis ace Aryna Sabalenka and Italy’s Jannik Sinner won the titles in their respective categories at the 2024 Cincinnati Open. It was Sinner’s fifth title of the season, while Sabalenka regained lost momentum as she won her first title since this year’s Australian Open.

The stark difference between Sinner and Sabalenka was in the prize money they both got. Despite playing an equal number of matches and best-of-three sets, Sabalenka won exactly half of what Sinner took home.

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This huge difference in the prize money for men and women players once again sparked the debate about equal pay in tennis. Sabalenka also waded into the discussion and demanded equal pay for female tennis players.

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From the TV point of view, from the ticket selling, from every point of view, it’s unfair. Of course, guys are always going to be physically stronger than women but it doesn’t mean we’re not working as hard as they do. Women deserve to be paid an equal amount of money that men do.
Aryna Sabalenka told The Guardian

Sabalenka won $524,730 in prize money after winning the title in Cincinnati while Jannik Sinner was presented with $1,049,460 in prize money for winning the same tournament.

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Aryna Sabalenka wants consistency from ‘big names’ of women’s tennis

Besides equal pay, Aryna Sabalenka also spoke about what can be done to make women’s tennis “cool”. The Belarusian said that the big names on the tour including herself, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff need to be consistent in reaching the last stages of tournaments in order to make women’s tennis better.

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka (via Tennis.com and Canalplus)

Sabalenka defeated Swiatek in straight sets in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open. She was thrilled not just with the win but also about the fact that the two top players on the WTA tour faced each other in the latter stages of a tournament. She stated that it needed to happen more often. 

Beating Iga in two sets was crazy and something I’m really happy about. I think it’s something we are working really hard on, to make sure we face each other in the last stages of every tournament – that we keep going with this rivalry between the two of us...I think that’s something cool for women’s tennis, to have several big names always reaching the last stages of the tournament; to see this consistency.
Aryna Sabalenka said

Sabalenka and Swiatek are enjoying a good rivalry so far, having faced each other 12 times. Although the Polish tennis ace has the upper hand with eight wins, the Belarusian has had a few wins here and there, and most recently in Cincinnati. And as Sabalenka opined, the two have faced each other only once before the quarterfinals at a tournament.

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