Aryna Sabalenka joined a growing list of players who have called for prize money equality in tennis after her US Open loss.
The US Open does give equal prize money and has been doing so for the last 50 years. This year marked the monumental decision that happened after Billie Jean King refused to play without being paid the same as men.
The equality was achieved at the US Open and some other WTA events, but generally, it's yet to fully come. Most events don't give out equal pay and have no intention of doing so, either. Many female athletes have come out strongly against it recently, and Sabalenka is one of them.
The only thing I can say is that I think women deserve to be paid the same as men, because we sacrifice a lot. We are working really hard. It's not like we are doing nothing and they paying us the same money.
I think, yeah, we deserve this, to be paid the same as mens. Yeah, the level probably different. Of course mens are stronger. Anyway, they're going to be stronger and better than us, but we're still putting a lot of work in, and I think we deserve to be paid the same. This is the only thing I can say right now.
Equality in all things is the goal of an ideal society, but the reality is currently different. We're slowly getting there, and the popularity of women's sports is rising. That's one of the ways we can get closer to equality.
The players are fighting the fight, and that's important too. Unfortunately, it's just not economically feasible for the smaller events at the moment. However, the WTA wants to have equal prize money at joint WTA 1000 and WTA 500 tournaments by the end of 2033, and the rest should follow then.
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