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Tennis has sought to be a leader in the battle
for equality in the last couple of decades with equal prize
money offered to men and women at the four Grand Slams.
WTA Tour events, however, still often offer less prize money
than those on the separate men's circuit. In the Rome
tournament, the total "financial commitment" for the men is
$9.51 million while for the women it is $3.5 million.
Italian tennis federation chief Angelo Binaghi said last month
the event had started a process that would lead to equal prize
money over three years, but Tunisian Jabeur called for immediate
change.
"I don't see why we have to wait," Jabeur told the New York
Times. "It's really frustrating. It's time for change. It's time
for the tournament to do better."
Reuters has contacted the tournament organisers for comment.
Both men's and women's competitors at the tournament - which is
one tier below the majors - play best-of-three set matches and
the draw for both events features 128 players.
Similar events at Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid offer equal pay
for women, although they are listed as mandatory tournaments for
players.
Spain's Paula Badosa said she did not understand why there was
prize money disparity in Rome, which attracts some of the
world's top names.
"I don't know why it's not equal right now," Badosa said. "They
don't inform us. They say this is what you get and you have to
play."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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