Tennis fans have expressed disappointment with the significant difference in the prize money between men and women, especially at the 2023 Italian Open.The ongoing tournament in Rome will offer both men's and women's champions 1,000 points, with best-of-three matches and the same ticket price. However, the fact that the men's runner-up will walk away with more money than the women's champion is unacceptable to a section of the tennis world. While the ATP winner will receive €1,105,265, the WTA winner will get €521,754.Apart from the four Grand Slam tournaments, only the BNP Paribas Open, the Miami Open, and the Madrid Open reward men and women with the same amount of money.Another gender-based controversy arose in Madrid recently when Carlos Alcaraz was presented with a much larger cake than Aryna Sabalenka as they celebrated their birthdays on May 5.Fans raised concerns about the growing disparity between the two genders, saying that it required changes at the grassroots level with more investment and marketing for women's tennis."Before anyone comments about less revenue. Remember that women's tennis gets less investment, coverage, and scheduling. The sexist culture goes much further than prize money and it can't be explained away by revenue," a fan tweeted.andy metal hip murray@MuzzaNation@MattFutterman @nytimes Before anyone comments about less revenue. Remember that women's tennis gets less investment, coverage, and scheduling. The sexist culture goes much further than prize money and it can't be explained away by revenue.465@MattFutterman @nytimes Before anyone comments about less revenue. Remember that women's tennis gets less investment, coverage, and scheduling. The sexist culture goes much further than prize money and it can't be explained away by revenue."Madrid with equal prize money but women treated with misogyny and as 2nd class, now sexist Rome with half prize money for women v men. The example tennis is setting is unacceptable. @wta @atptour @MutuaMadridOpen @InteBNLdItalia should all be ashamed. Please player boycotts," a user wrote.Paul Denton 🇺🇦@Denton79@MattFutterman @nytimes Madrid with equal prize money but women treated with misogyny and as 2nd class, now sexist Rome with half prize money for women v men. The example tennis is setting is unacceptable. @wta @atptour @MutuaMadridOpen @InteBNLdItalia should all be ashamed. Please player boycotts71@MattFutterman @nytimes Madrid with equal prize money but women treated with misogyny and as 2nd class, now sexist Rome with half prize money for women v men. The example tennis is setting is unacceptable. @wta @atptour @MutuaMadridOpen @InteBNLdItalia should all be ashamed. Please player boycotts"The fact that #cakegate might have been the straw that breaks the camel’s back is incredible. A comedy of errors that will hopefully lead to equal pay and other solutions," another tweet read.High on Tennis@atennishigh@MattFutterman @TennisPodcast @nytimes The fact that #cakegate might have been the straw that breaks the camel’s back is incredible. A comedy of errors that will hopefully lead to equal pay and other solutions4@MattFutterman @TennisPodcast @nytimes The fact that #cakegate might have been the straw that breaks the camel’s back is incredible. A comedy of errors that will hopefully lead to equal pay and other solutionsHere are some more fan reactions:Matt Futterman@MattFuttermanThe pay gap in tennis is kinda embarrassing and the women have just about had it. via @NYTimes nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo…36170The pay gap in tennis is kinda embarrassing and the women have just about had it. via @NYTimes nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo…David Law@DavidLawTennisIn Rome this week, men and women will play on the same court, as part of the same ticket. Men’s champ will receive €1,105,265Women’s champ will get €521,754Excellent, detailed article here by @MattFutterman in the New York Times about the pay gap - nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo…26851In Rome this week, men and women will play on the same court, as part of the same ticket. Men’s champ will receive €1,105,265Women’s champ will get €521,754Excellent, detailed article here by @MattFutterman in the New York Times about the pay gap - nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo… https://t.co/aZPuCSMUE5Scott Erick 🇺🇦@Scott_Eric_Yep@MattFutterman @nytimes For the people who are gonna say, yeah, but ticket sales. There was a time not long ago when Serna, Venus and Sharapova could tell more seats and TV viewers than 99% of the men. Martina, Chrissy and Billie Jean were some of the biggest stars the sport has ever had.@MattFutterman @nytimes For the people who are gonna say, yeah, but ticket sales. There was a time not long ago when Serna, Venus and Sharapova could tell more seats and TV viewers than 99% of the men. Martina, Chrissy and Billie Jean were some of the biggest stars the sport has ever had.Antony@AntonyOtter@DavidLawTennis @MattFutterman How is this allowed - why aren't the tournaments fined for having unequal prize money?@DavidLawTennis @MattFutterman How is this allowed - why aren't the tournaments fined for having unequal prize money?Paulina Mitelsztedt🇪🇺🇺🇦🎾@PauliMdtI love how haters always boil it down to one crucial argument ‘Women are “less entertaining”’ than menCuriously, part of a larger ‘Women are “less funny” than men’ argument Says the standard copy-pasted from whom? Oh yes, right. Men. twitter.com/davidlawtennis…David Law@DavidLawTennisIn Rome this week, men and women will play on the same court, as part of the same ticket. Men’s champ will receive €1,105,265Women’s champ will get €521,754Excellent, detailed article here by @MattFutterman in the New York Times about the pay gap - nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo…27552In Rome this week, men and women will play on the same court, as part of the same ticket. Men’s champ will receive €1,105,265Women’s champ will get €521,754Excellent, detailed article here by @MattFutterman in the New York Times about the pay gap - nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo… https://t.co/aZPuCSMUE5I love how haters always boil it down to one crucial argument ‘Women are “less entertaining”’ than menCuriously, part of a larger ‘Women are “less funny” than men’ argument Says the standard copy-pasted from whom? Oh yes, right. Men. twitter.com/davidlawtennis…Laura@lost_art_gradI love tennis but this really needs to change: twitter.com/davidlawtennis…David Law@DavidLawTennisIn Rome this week, men and women will play on the same court, as part of the same ticket. Men’s champ will receive €1,105,265Women’s champ will get €521,754Excellent, detailed article here by @MattFutterman in the New York Times about the pay gap - nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo…152In Rome this week, men and women will play on the same court, as part of the same ticket. Men’s champ will receive €1,105,265Women’s champ will get €521,754Excellent, detailed article here by @MattFutterman in the New York Times about the pay gap - nytimes.com/2023/05/10/spo… https://t.co/aZPuCSMUE5I love tennis but this really needs to change: twitter.com/davidlawtennis…Sanjeev Pandey@sanjeevsara23@InteBNLdItalia @InteBNLdItalia @WTA @atptour @ITFTennis @ATPMediaInfo You guys are giving more prize money to ATP runner-up @InteBNLdItalia than WTA winner is this a joke, if yes same cannot be tolerated. Please keep equal pay for women tennis players at @InteBNLdItalia@InteBNLdItalia @InteBNLdItalia @WTA @atptour @ITFTennis @ATPMediaInfo You guys are giving more prize money to ATP runner-up @InteBNLdItalia than WTA winner 🏆 is this a joke, if yes same cannot be tolerated. Please keep equal pay for women tennis players at @InteBNLdItaliaTennis players' take on unequal prize money for men and womenOns Jabeur (L) and Paula BadosaOns Jabeur and Paula Badosa are part of the Novak Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and they recently joined Denis Shapovalov to call for equal pay. Jabeur said:“It’s really frustrating. It’s time for change. It’s time for the tournament to do better.”Badosa questioned tournament organizers, saying:“I don’t know why it’s not equal right now. They don’t inform us. They say this is what you get and you have to play.”In March, Shapovalov lent his support to women players, saying they deserved the same opportunities as men."When I started out, I kind of assumed that male and female pros were treated the same way," Shapovalov wrote. "Unfortunately, it seems that if you are a female player, your chances of surviving as a pro are a lot lower because you are a woman. You should be given the same opportunities regardless of gender, color, race, regardless of anything."