"Sexists can keep crying","Nobody watches women's tennis": Fans divided over Maria Sharapova criticizing gender pay gap between ATP & WTA tournaments

Former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova criticized the gender pay gap considering the prize money for the ATP Shanghai Masters and the WTA Zhengzhou Open. The incident has elicited mixed reactions from tennis fans worldwide.

Sharapova recently took part in the Bloomberg Screentime conference with Jason Kelly where she discussed the controversial topic, saying that the 'disparity is insane' and that it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

"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," the Russian said.

"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 the buzz. But then the rest of the tour which is the eight or nine other months is there. The disparity is insane and that needs to be addressed," she added.

Maria Sharapova's comments did not sit well with some tennis fans and they took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their thoughts. One user quickly pointed out that the Shanghai Masters is an ATP 1000 tournament, whereas the Zhengzhou Open is a WTA 500 event, therefore the comparison made no sense.

"First of all…one is a masters while the other is a 500 so it’s not even a one to one comparison. And that’s before we even get into the profitability of the respective organizations," the user wrote.

Another account posted:

"How much money did she make from beauty product ads, based on her gender, compared to men's players of similar status, should that also be equal?"

However, other fans agreed with Maria Sharapova's comments, as one user stated:

"Mother always spilling, sexists in the comments can keep crying."

Another account tweeted:

"I’d rarely agree with this dope fiend but she right."

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A look into Maria Sharapova's career

Maria Sharapova pictured at the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco

Maria Sharapova was a force to be reckoned with for more than a decade in women's tennis. She began playing competitive tennis at the age of 14 and achieved the World No. 1 ranking on five different occasions. She is also the only Russian player to have achieved the Career Grand Slam.

Sharapova won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships. She beat defending champion Serena Williams in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, to break into the top 10 for the first time.

With her victory at the 2012 French Open, Maria Sharapova became the 10th woman to complete the Career Grand Slam. She was also the first Russian woman to reach the top spot in the world rankings, which she did on August 22, 2005.

The 36-year-old is also an Olympic medallist, having won silver in the women's singles at the 2012 London Olympics. Sharapova won 36 singles titles, including five Grand Slam titles (two at Roland Garros and one each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open), during her illustrious career.

However, the Russian announced her retirement from the sport in 2020, as she was beset by a series of injuries.