By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, October 15, 2023
Several prominent Grand Slam champions support an ATP and WTA merger.
Maria Sharapova says it's not happening.
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Former world No. 1 Sharapova told Bloomberg a merger unifying the ATP and WTA is "not going to happen" and blasted the inequity in prize money at some Tour events as "insane."
“It’s not going to happen; no, it’s not,” Sharapova told Bloomberg. “Just this week, there’s a men’s tournament, that’s still happening in Shanghai with the winner’s prize check $1.2 million. In the same week in China there’s a women’s tournament with a winner’s check of $120,000. …
“I don’t know if anyone’s familiar with those numbers. You got to a Grand Slam and we are celebrating equal prize money at a Grand Slam. Great. Those are the biggest events that get the biggest attention, media, the buzz. But then the rest of the Tour, which is the eight or nine other months, the disparity is insane and that needs to be addressed.”
Skeptics say Sharapova's comments present a false equivalence.
The five-time Grand Slam champion compared the prize money Hubert Hurkacz won at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, which is a Masters 1000 event—the 1000 events being the highest-level and highest-paying tournaments (aside from the Tour Finals) on the men's and women's Tours—to the prize money Qinwen Zheng won at the Zhengzhou Open, which is a WTA 500 event, a full level below the 1000 tournaments.
Critics say Sharapova is either ignorant of the prize money structure or simply being disingenuous comparing two completely different levels of tournaments.
In recent years, several champions, including Roger Federer, Billie Jean King, Chrissie Evert and John McEnroe have called for the ATP and WTA to merge to unify the sport and deliver the best fields and best value for fans.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi has also publicly supported a merger saying the sport can be strengthened through solidarity, combining television and digital rights and presenting fans with a steamlined sport that's easier to follow.
For years, both King and Federer have called for tennis to unify and merge the ATP and WTA.
In response to a tweet from @FedererArmy, who wrote "I would love for the ATP and WTA to merge", Roger Federer concurred pointing out a combined Tour would create clarity and eliminate confusion for fans.
"I agree with you," Federer replied. "It’s too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories."
The 36-year-old Sharapova, who earned nearly $39 million in prize money during her career and topped Forbes' list as the world's highest-paid female athlete for nearly a decade until she tested positive for the banned substance meldonium and subsequently served a 15-month ban from tennis, said while she hopes a merger will occur, she doesn't see it happening.
Sharapova cites prize money disparity and different calendars as two major stumbling blocks for a merger.
“How do you align the calendar when you have so many events throughout the year? How do you make it accessible, interesting and engaging," Sharapova told Bloomberg. "It will take time. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but I sure hope it does."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve