“Nothing to live on,” WTA faces a brutal snub as Russian tennis star takes on policies that “make no sense”

Daria Kasatkina ended the 2023 season as the World No. 18 on WTA rankings.

“Nothing to live on,” WTA faces a brutal snub as Russian tennis star takes on policies that “make no sense”

Daria Kasatkina (Source: Open Source/X)

Russian tennis star Daria Kasatkina recently said in a podcast that it makes no sense to compare men’s and women’s sports because the pay difference between the two is massive. While the Grand Slam events have already implemented equal pay for both genders, things are very different in the other tournaments. 

The former World No. 8 shed light on the horrible condition of players who are outside the top 50 rankings in WTA because, allegedly, that is where the difference between men’s and women’s sports is most visible.

The condition of ATP players outside the top 50 rankings is still better than that of WTA players. Thus, Daria Kasatkina said that the concept of equal pay is almost impossible to achieve. 

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Comparing men's & women's sports makes no sense at all. I don't understand why we're doing it, we're not competing with each other. I think the topic of equal prize money was not invented by tennis players. We realise that this is impossible nowadays. We want our prize money to increase. 
Kasatkina via the What’s on the Tour Podcast

Daria Kasatkina said that the demand of women’s players to increase their prize money is absolutely normal because they know that they are deserving of it. Moreover, the players are very well aware that the WTA has the capacity to pay them more, but for some reason, they chose not to and they are still having to protest for it. 

Daria Kasatkina talked about the prize money at WTA 250 and WTA 125

The Russian said that it is easy for some fans to question their protests for an increase in prize money, but the players have a better understanding of the internal situation. Moreover, analyzing the condition of WTA 250 and 125s gives a clear picture of what’s happening. 

Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina (Source: Tennis Majors)
We know a little bit more than others, so we're not satisfied. That's what we're fighting for. No one wants to take men's money away from them. We don't want to sit with what we have because it's not enough. Even if we look at the prize money at WTA 250 or WTA 125, it's absurd. After all the taxes and expenses, there's nothing to live on. 

The example of any tournament that is for both ATP and WTA will clearly explain the difference. The 2024 Auckland Open has a prize pool of $642,735 for ATP and $267,082 for WTA. The difference between the two is massive. 

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