INTERNATIONAL: The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has stated that it is committed to achieving equal prize money for men and women athletes at the Queen’s Club and Eastbourne by 2029.
This year, the women’s event at Queen’s Club will have a total prize money of US$1.415 million (about £1.043 million or S$1.80 million). This amount includes the voluntary increase by the LTA, which raised the standard prize money by approximately 33%. This is to show support for greater pay equality.
However, despite the boost, the total women’s prize pool is still significantly lower than the prize men athletes will receive for competing at the Queen’s as well. This highlights the gap between the two events.
With this, the LTA declared that they are determined to close the gap over the next few years. LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd expressed: “The LTA is committed to growing women’s tennis, both at professional and grass-roots level, and this move is an important part of that commitment.”
He added: “This year, fans will be able to enjoy both men’s and women’s tennis on the biggest stages that we can offer… We want to develop the tournaments so that the women’s events deliver a path to profitability and greater visibility for the sport.”
More about the events
The prize money minimums are set by the ATP and WTA tours. At the Queen’s Club, the men’s ATP event allotted €2.522 million (£2.122 million), and for the women’s WTA tournament, which will return for the first time since 1973, will have a smaller prize fund.
Both events are known to be ‘500’ level tournaments. It means that it is just below the Grand Slams and the Masters 1000. The men’s tournament is sold out, while over 80% of women’s tickets are sold at lower prices.
Moreover, the LTA is facing a challenge because money spent on prize funds can’t be used to support grassroots tennis programs in the UK. Their summer events lost £4 million last year.
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With all of this, the LTA has pledged to achieve equal prize money at Queen’s and Eastbourne by 2029, four years ahead of the WTA’s 2033 deadline for standalone women’s events.
Furthermore, Eastbourne is a combined ‘250’ event with prize money of US$389,000 (£286,650) for women and €756,875 (£637,000) for men, the highest payout for that category on the WTA Tour this year.
In a social media post, LTA shared: “A significant uplift in women’s prize money for 2025 🙌… The women’s prize money at the HSBC Championships and Lexus Eastbourne Open reaches record levels this summer… The LTA is committed to achieving true equal prize money for men and women at these events as soon as possible and no later than 2029.”
WTA commented on the post and said: “A win for women, a win for the sport, a win for future generations. This matters 💚”
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Some netizens also expressed their thoughts regarding this subject matter and said: “We also want transparent draws of opponents’ brackets” and “Just not good enough.”
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