Nick Kyrgios’ 'Novak Djokovic' comment on equal pay for men and women in tennis sparks outrage

Nick Kyrgios has once again hit the headlines. Famous for his controversial comments, the Australian has now waded into the topic of equal pay for men and women players. The subject once again came to limelight after it was learnt that Britain’s Dan Evans would receive more money than American Coco Gauff with both players winning the Washington tournament. Podcaster Myles David pointed out this inequality on Twitter. Responding to David’s post, Kyrgios wrote, “What about slams? Do we do this breakdown then? Vondrousova made more than Novak that week."

Kyrgios was referring to the fact that Marketa Vondrousova earned around £2,749,036 ($2,974,458) in prize money after winning her maiden Wimbledon title this year. Serbian great Novak Djokovic pocketed around £1,175,000 having suffered a defeat to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final.

Kyrgios’ argument met with harsh criticism on social media. Most Twitter users felt that Vondrousova deserved greater pay as she had won the Wimbledon title, whereas Djokovic managed to claim the second spot.

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The issue of gender pay has been discussed on multiple occasions as female tennis players are often found to be earning less than their male counterparts. It has been learnt that Dan Evans will earn around £276,500 for winning the ATP 500 event. Coco Gauff will reportedly claim around £94,000 having conquered the WTA version.

WTA release statement on equal pay

Male and female players currently earn equal prize money only at a handful of tournaments. Though, the four Grand Slams have been providing a balanced pay structure since 2007. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) had announced earlier this year in June some changes which would allow equal pay between men and women competitors in various tournaments.

“Players that say, ‘Why do we have to wait?’ are right, 100%. But it can’t happen tomorrow. We can’t change this overnight. But I’m very excited that we have a plan now — not to just sit and talk about this and hope that somebody will help us do the right thing that’s appropriate and deserving for these players. We’re going to make it happen. Maybe we can even get there faster, if the revenues grow,” WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon told AP.

The US Open was the first major competition which came up with the idea of equal pay for both men and women participants. Starting in 1973, the tournament decided to pay both women and men the same.