Cincinnati Open's Unequal Prize Money Reignites Tennis's Equal Pay Debate Ahead of US Open
Should all tennis tournaments, not just the four Grand Slams, be required to pay men and women equal prize money? The men's and women's champions at this month's Cincinnati Open took home different prize checks, with the men's winner earning $1,151,380 and the women's champion collecting $1,085,220, even though both draws were played at the same venue in front of the same paying fans. The gap has reignited a long-running argument in tennis just weeks before the US Open, the tournament that became the first Grand Slam to pay men and women equally back in 1973.
All four Grand Slams, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, now pay identical prize money to men's and women's singles champions, even though women play best-of-three sets while men play best-of-five. Outside the majors, the picture is uneven. The WTA has set a target of reaching equal prize money at combined WTA 1000 and 500 events by 2027 and at single-week WTA events by 2033, a timeline some players argue is too slow.
The 2026 US Open runs from August 23 to September 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, with the men's and women's singles champions again set to earn equal prize money. The tournament's total 2025 prize pool reached a record $90 million, and this year's full breakdown is expected in the coming weeks.
The case for:
Supporters argue fans buy the same ticket to watch both draws at combined events, so paying winners differently for the same venue and audience is hard to justify.
Advocates point to the WTA's own stated goal of full pay equity by 2033 as evidence that tour organizers already see the current gap as a problem to fix, not a permanent feature.
Some argue equal pay sends an important signal to young female players about the value of their sport, regardless of short-term revenue differences.
The case against:
Tournament organizers argue prize money differences reflect real differences in ticket sales, TV ratings and revenue generated by the men's and women's draws at non-Slam events.
Some note the men's game features best-of-five-set matches at majors, nearly double the on-court time of the women's best-of-three format, which they believe should factor into non-Slam pay structures.
Skeptics of a hard mandate argue tournaments should set purses based on their own economics rather than a uniform rule applied across every event on tour.
What's your take?
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