“Not a reason to brag, WTA; Taylor Fritz earned $365k” – Tennis fans infuriated by the huge discrepancy in prize money for Taylor Fritz and Iga Swiatek at the ATP Japan Open and the WTA Ostrava Open

Tennis fans have expressed their displeasure with the huge discrepancy in the prize money for Taylor Fritz and Iga Swiatek at the ATP Japan Open and the WTA Ostrava Open respectively.

Fritz, who defeated his compatriot and friend Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in the final of the ATP 500 Japan Open in Tokyo, took home a cheque of $365,275. Runner-up Tiafoe, meanwhile, was rewarded with $182,825.

On the other hand, home favorite Barbora Krejcikova, who triumphed over World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a thrilling final at the WTA 500 Ostrava Open in the Czech Republic, was handed a cheque of €93,823 (equalling $116,340). Swiatek, meanwhile, collected only $71,960.

The two tournaments, both 500-level events and played simultaneously, had a similar best-of-three-sets format too. 32 players contested each title over the week.

At the conclusion of the event, the WTA's official social media page was seemingly boastful about the prize money in Ostrava. But fans were unhappy with the governing body, calling them out for not gathering enough funds from sponsors for women’s tennis.

One such tweet compared Taylor Fritz's earnings against those of top players such as Barbora Krejcikova and Iga Swiatek.

“Taylor Fritz – Tokyo ATP 500 winner – earned $365k, which is almost 4x Ostrava's winner. The winner of next week's Firenze ATP 250 will earn the same of the winner of a WTA 500 who features the best players on Tour. Not a reason to brag, WTA. Claim more from your sponsors,” one comment voiced.

Yet another demanded a change in management.

“WTA Management and Marketing Services must be changed. Now it's kinda hard to blame tennis players in bad watchings,” they opined.

Here are some more reactions from fans:

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The ATP-WTA discrepancy has been called out numerous times in the past, well before the Taylor Fritz - Iga Swiatek episode

In 2007, Venus Williams became the first woman to colleact equal prize money at Wimbledon

In June 2022, The Financial Times reported that the ATP Tour provided 75% more prize money than the WTA body. Journalist Ben Rothenberg also pointed out the money gap at the 2022 ATP and WTA events in Germany and the 2022 Eastbourne International.

The Grand Slams now distribute equal prize money to both men's and women's athletes, but that hasn't always been the case. With some push from tennis legend Billie Jean King, the US Open was the first of four Slams to award equal pay to the winners, from 1973 onwards.

However, the Wimbledon Championships followed suit only in 2007, after Venus Williams pushed for equal prize money.

“The time is right to bring this subject to a logical conclusion and eliminate the difference. We believe our decision to offer equal prize money provides a boost for the game as a whole and recognizes the enormous contribution that women players make to the game and to Wimbledon,” the All England Club announced in their statement at the time.