A few days ago, tennis legend Maria Sharapova sat down with Bloomberg Screentime host Jason Kelly to discuss her transition from world-class player to entrepreneur and what it takes to operate a successful business. The former world No. 1 also spoke candidly about her career as a professional tennis player.
Throughout the course of her interview, Sharapova talked back and forth between her time in her two distinct careers. It was, however, her remarks regarding the “gender gap pay” in tournaments that captivated the audience. The conversation began when the host mentioned that there had been discussions regarding the merger between the ATP and the WTA. Sharapova promptly responded that this would not be the case.
“There’s more than talk about merging the ATP and WTA,” Kelly said.
“That’s not going to happen. Not soon. Just this week, there’s a men’s tournament actually still happening in Shanghai with the Winner’s prize check of $1.2 million. In the same week, there’s a women’s tournament in China with the Winner’s check at $120,000… I don’t know if anyone’s familiar with those numbers but you go to a Grand Slam and we are celebrating equal prize money. Great. Those are the biggest events with the biggest attention, media, and buzz. But then the rest of the tour, which is the 8 or 9 other months, there.. the disparity is insane and that needs to be addressed,” Sharapova responded.
Fans on Sharapova and pay gap
Following her interesting perspective on the gender pay gap, fans then took to the comment section under the video in YouTube, stating that Sharapova was making ‘false analogies.’
One user said, “Sharapova is making false analogies. By claiming the tournaments in China where the men’s winner gets ten times that of the women’s winner, she is comparing the Shanghai Masters which is an ATP top tier 1000 event, to a little-known WTA mid-level 500 event in Zhengzhou. Yes, the men’s winner in Shanghai will get $1.26 million, but rather than comparing it to a small WTA event in Zhengzhou, she should have compared it to the comparable WTA China Open, which was held a week before in Beijing, where the women’s winner received $1.32 million.”
Many expressed dissatisfaction with Sharapova’s assertion, claiming that the disparity in pay between men and women in tennis is due to the fact that the men’s tournament generates significantly more revenue than the women’s tournament. One user said, “Men events draw much more revenue. Men play best of 5 sets, women best of 3 sets. Ladies you should get paid based on the revenue you bring in.”
Maria Sharapova says the gender pay gap needs to be addressed & the disparity is ‘insane’:
“Just this week, there’s a men’s tournament actually still happening in Shanghai with the Winner’s prize check of $1.2 million. In the same week, there’s a women’s tournament in China with… pic.twitter.com/b0guVdlTCx
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 14, 2023
Some X users, on the other hand, supported Sharapova’s claim, one X user said “More women need to keep speaking out over it. There’s progression but it’s so slow. While another one added, “mother always spilling, sexists in the comments can keep crying”.
The photo above is from