A week in tennis – Uneven pay and surprising upsets at the Italian Open

Despite some shocking upsets and rain that wreaked havoc on the schedule, one thing dominated the conversation during the first several days of the Italian Open: the pay gap between men and women.

While some tournaments on tour offer similar prize money, Rome currently does not. It’s not even close – the men’s champion gets $1.2 million and the women’s champion $567,215. The purse for all male participants is $8.3 million, compared to $3.88 million for the women.

The tournament recently announced it would offer the same amount of prize money in 2025, but many players have questioned the delay.

“I don’t see why we have to wait,” Ons Jabeur, world no.7. reported The New York Times. “It’s really frustrating. It’s time to change. It’s time to make the tournament better.”

The Italian Open is a mandatory 1000-level event for both the ATP and WTA, with both singles draws featuring 96 players at the start and best-of-three sets.

“I don’t know why it’s not equal right now,” Paula Badosa, currently ranked No. 35, also told The New York Times. “They don’t inform us. They say this is what you get and you have to play.”

The four majors offer similar amounts of prize money, but many other 1,000-level events, including the US Open’s summer hardcourt series events in Cincinnati and Canada, do not. With these tournaments coming up, coupled with complaints about gender inequality at the Madrid Open earlier this month, it seems likely that this necessary conversation will continue.

In the meantime, here’s what else you might have missed from the ongoing Italian Open and the world of tennis:

A shocked city

The Italian Open is far from over, but the tournament has already seen some unexpected results. Just ask soon-to-be world number one Carlos Alcaraz. After reclaiming his top spot in next week’s rankings with a win of 64, Alcaraz suffered his first loss since March at the hands of Fabian Marozsan – ranked 135th in qualifying – on Monday.

Marozsan, playing in his first career ATP main draw, needed just one hour and 40 minutes to win 6-3, 7-6 (4), becoming the lowest-ranked player in history to beat the ATP’s top two players. In a Masters 1000-level event on clay. He later told the crowd that he “couldn’t imagine this” result, but his calm and composed reaction immediately after the match seemed like he was more than ready for this moment. He will next face Borna Coric in the quarterfinals.

First ATP Tour main series of his career in Rome
First Hungarian man to reach the last 16 in 42 years
Defeats World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz

This is your moment, Fabian Marozsan @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI23 pic.twitter.com/8YkuOjSHRA

ATP Tour (@atptour) May 15, 2023

While Marozsan’s win was one of the biggest surprises in recent memory, it wasn’t the only upset in Rome. Qualifier Taylor Townsend defeated world number three Jessica Pegula 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the 64th for her biggest win since returning from maternity leave last year, and world number 134 Sofia. Recently struggling 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin upset reigning Australian Open champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the same round. It was Kenin’s first top-10 win since 2020, and Kenin credited Townsend’s win as an inspiration.

“Like Taylor Townsend said, trust the process, trust everything I’ve put in.” Kenin told WTA Insider. “I’m putting in the work, I’ve got the talent and I’ve got great support behind me. It’s just slowly clicking.”

Townsend and Kenin lost their next matches, but both are sure to feel good about their time in Italy.

Rafa clock

Rafael Nadal’s position at the upcoming French Open has been in serious doubt for the past several weeks due to his lingering hip injury. After announcing that she would not be able to play in Rome, one of the last warm-up events before Paris, there was speculation that she would try to play in a smaller tournament to gain playing experience before the Grand Slam tournament. But in yet another not-so-great sign, it was revealed on Sunday that he has refused to play a wild card into next week’s Challenger event in Bordeaux.

“I offered [Nadal’s agent Carlos Costa] one of the wild cards,” tournament director Jean-Baptiste Perlan told L’Equipe. “He told me very kindly that Nadal continued to prepare at home in Manacor, that he was not ready and was racing against time to be ready. to the French Open.”

Nadal has not played since he was injured in the second round of the Australian Open in January. The 36-year-old has played at Roland Garros every year since 2005, winning the title a record 14 times. He’ll obviously do whatever it takes to play if possible, but it’s also unclear what condition he’ll be in if he chooses to do so. The main draw starts on May 28.

‘Thanks for caring’

Naomi Osaka may be temporarily off the tour due to her pregnancy, but that hasn’t stopped her from applauding those who doubt her upcoming comeback. On Friday, the four-time champion tweeted:

Btw for people who are suddenly worried about my career – There are plenty of male athletes with kids who are significantly less accomplished, you might want to worry about them instead. Thanks for your concern, you might want to refer it to someone who needs it.

NaomiOsaka (@naomiosaka) May 12, 2023

Allyson Felix, who won two medals in Tokyo after giving birth, became the most decorated woman in Olympic athletics history. simply wrote“word” and a clapping emoji in response.

Bragging rights

The Italian Open practice session heated up between the ridiculous Jabeur and Maria Sakkar, but it probably wasn’t for any of the reasons you’re thinking. Seriously, if you were to list your top 10 guesses about hostility, you’d almost certainly be wrong.

Actually, it was because of the olive oil. Jabeur and Sakkari would joke about which of their home countries, Tunisia and Greece, produced a superior product. In perhaps the ultimate dagger, both claimed they had never even heard of the other country’s olive oil.

Fierce debate about the court on the 11th @mariasakkari: @Ons_Jabeur: #IBI23 | @WTA pic.twitter.com/HIgKmnOz55

Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 9, 2023

The tournament then continued to take to Twitter to decide which country should win this claim. Greece and more broadly Sakkari finally won 57.4% of the votes.

Who makes the best olive oil? Exercise can wait.

Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 9, 2023