A significant legal battle has been launched by the Novak Djokovic-backed Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which has filed a lawsuit against the WTA, ATP, ITIA, and ITF, accusing them of anti-competitive practices and exploiting players. Despite Djokovic being a co-founder, the suit is spearheaded by 12 other professionals, including Nick Kyrgios and Reilly Opelka. While the core issue revolves around decisions impacting player earnings, former WTA star and Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs believes the lawsuit is misguided.
In an episode of the Rennae Stubbs podcast, dated March 25, the ex-Aussie player emphasized on a loophole. The Grand Slams. But don’t they pay a hefty amount to players already? According to Stubbs, that’s really not enough. She revealed that “the entities to go after more, from the players standpoint, as far as getting more money, is the Grand Slams.” Reason? “The Grand Slams are the ones that are really taking advantage of the players. They’re the ones that have, without a doubt, with the revenue share, without question, not giving the players enough.”
Explaining her point, she added, “If you think about it, I’m going to talk about it in layman’s terms here. Basically, the winner of a Grand Slam is getting somewhere between $3 million and $4 million.” But aren’t those nice figures? Well, it may appear at first “until you learn what the tournament is earning.”
Yes, $4 million amounts to a “great check, but when you’re talking about the best players in the world playing seven matches, seven matches over more than two weeks now, every Grand Slam is going to 15 days. It’s like, if you think about a Novak Djokovic, let’s say back in the day, Roger Federer, Serena, the all-time greats. If they played seven nights of exhibitions, they would be making at least $7 million.” And guess what, the numbers don’t lie as far as the Slam prize money for players is concerned.
Last season, the US Open made over a mammoth $500 million in revenue. That included ticket sales, sponsorships, and broadcasting, as reported by Tennis Insider Club in September 2024. On the other hand, the prize pool for players was raised to $75 million, with women’s and men’s singles champion taking $3.6 million each.
Now if you give a second look at the prize pool amount, it’s just 15 percent of the overall revenue. You see? The huge difference is hard to ignore here. In other sports, the margin is close to an impressive 50 percent.
For example in NBA, an average player salary is $9.6 million. While in soccer, even a lower-tier player can earn an amount upto six figures, often in the range of $50,000 to $500,000 per year. But in tennis, the top 50-100 players get $200,000 to $500,000 per year. Not to mention their expenses on coaches, travelling, and taxes. Coming down, players ranked 100-200 can earn only between $50,000 to $150,000 annually. And let’s not get on to the Challenger/ITF level. Players hardly make any huge sum with some of the events giving just $3,000 in prize money to winners.
Stubbs concluded, “So my whole thing is, when you think about that for a two-week event, the time that they’re giving out, the money that those Grand Slams are making, that is not enough money for them.” But what’s the stance of governing bodies themselves on the entire pay disparity matter?
Amid the lawsuit controversy, WTA vows to ensure players’ welfare
After the lawsuit made headlines online, WTA’s team didn’t take long to issue a statement. Not to mention its commitment to provide women players a great professional experience. It read, “The WTA is a nonprofit, membership organization that exists to advance women’s tennis on behalf of players, tournaments, and fans.”
The statement also highlighted that WTA players have a say in governance, with key inputs from selected Board representatives. So what steps have been taken so far? Last month, a rebranded look for WTA was unveiled with a green logo. It’s part of the ‘Rally the World’ campaign. It featured the likes of Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina. More than the visual change, women’s tennis events have also earned a large amount of eyeballs lately.
Last season, on-site attendance for WTA tournaments rose by 15 percent. Moreover, social media followers escalated by 25 percent. Plus, the global viewership increased to 1.1 billion across TV and streaming platforms. But the biggest change came when the WTA announced the first-ever paid maternity leave program, earlier this month on March 7.
The historic move came in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). On IG, the official announcement revealed, “WTA and PIF create the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program, the first-ever paid maternity leave for professional tennis players. A defining moment in women’s sports.”
Under this program, players will be allowed to take up to 12 months of paid maternity leave. 320 eligible players have already been selected who will receive grants for fertility treatments like IVF and egg freezing. Per WTA CEO Portia Archer, the program is “meant to provide and support women as they look to start their families or broaden their families.”
As of now, it seems the governing bodies and PTPA are offering justifications. But will they come up with a final solution for the players? What do you think?
The post “Not Enough Money” – Grand Slam Loophole Uncovered as Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach Questions PTPA’s Priorities appeared first on EssentiallySports.
