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Madrid Open Owner Appears Open to a Shift Away From Equal Pay for Male & Female Tennis Players


Some readers might be avid tennis fans.  Some may have happened to notice the start of the French Open on Sunday in Paris.  Others may simply be interested in the continuing dialogue over equal pay.  Well, I have some good news:  This topic covers all those high points.


In comments to The New York Times earlier this month, Madrid Open owner, Ion Tiriac, suggested that his tennis tournament might look to move away from equal pay for male and female players.  In his comments to the Times, Tiriac stated that while female players may deserve more (in pay), it is important to calculate how much money male and female tennis players actually put on the table.  In his view, female players are not bringing in as much revenue as male players and therefore might not be "entitled" to equal pay going forward.  Tiriac went so far as to state he could struggle to pay equal prize money in future tournaments:  "If I increase the women's [pay], too, I am broke and I don't know how to do a tennis event."  (Note, the Madrid Open, one of only three tennis tournaments outside of the Grand Slam events that pays male and female players equally.)  

While this could blow over, as some expect, I do not think it will go as quietly if the Madrid Open does indeed decide to stop the practice of equal pay.  Readers might have noticed that equal pay has started to become a hot button issue as of late.  A few weeks ago,  a lawsuit was filed by members of the United States Women's National Soccer team which alleged wage discrimination in regards to unequal pay in comparison to members of the United States Men's National Soccer team.  That lawsuit came on the heals of the recent anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 as well as several other equal pay developments from around the country.

Although this is an issue that is primarily playing out over in Europe, I think quite a few advocates for equal pay in the United States will soon focus on this and rally around the fight for continued equal pay for male and female tennis players in the Madrid Open.  Stay tuned.




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