It appears that players are starting to recognise their worth as the fight for equal pay continues in the world of tennis. The top 20 tennis players (among them Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff) have come together and written a letter to the four Grand Slam tournaments requesting an increase in share revenue.
An eye opener is that, compared to other sports like football and Basketball, tennis players receive a smaller share of total revenue, which is around 17.5% generated by the sport, while other sports codes receive 50% of league revenue.
Tennis players refuse to leave this matter lying down, as last month the PTPA( Professional Tennis players Association ), which is co-founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil filed a lawsuit in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe against the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation and International Tennis Integrity Agency on the bases of alleged “systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare”.
Ranked no 11, Emma Navarro, who signed the letter written to the four grand slam tournaments, says this is a good cause for players to come together and fight for their rights, and this means together they will move the sport in the right direction “ I talked a little bit to the other players about it and felt like it was a good idea to sign. And I think there have been some sort of unfair pay ratios – I don’t know the correct terminology – in the past. And I think it’s a good cause to come together as players and make sure we’re getting treated fairly.”
Last year at Wimbledon, the singles champions got paid £ 2.7 million each, while the overall money was £ 50 million. Double the money the All-England club received in 2014.
Olympic Champion Zheng Qinwen also had a few words to say on this matter, which she agrees is unfair, as some players are struggling to make ends meet. If the money gets increased, it will help low-ranked players go a long way and be able to provide for their dependents.
“I think that’s going to benefit all the players, not only the top players, especially those that work hard during the year and need to get paid from the Grand Slams and have to survive, We try to do what we can and then let’s see what the gods bring to us. But at least we’re trying.”
