WTA Finals 2019 has the biggest prize in tennis history
The tournament between the eight best female players of the year is expected to reward the champion of up to $ 4.75 million.
This amount is nearly double the $ 2.71 million that Alexander Zverev earned when winning the ATP Finals 2018. It is also biggerer than the $ 4 million that the US women's football team was awarded after the World Cup championship this year, and twice as much as when Tiger Woods pocketed The Master's title.
In the context that public opinion is demanding fair income for female athletes, the WTA Women's Tennis Association raises the prize pool to a record and received a lot of praises. "Playing the sport we love and receiving attractive rewards is a real privilege," said world number one female tennis player Ashleigh Barty on CNN Sport. "We have to thank WTA and the sponsors. This will definitely help the matches more competitive."
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To own all of $ 4.75 million, players must win all three group matches. This is not uncommon in WTA Finals history. Eight of the 16 champions recently won all the tournament, most recently Elina Svitolina in 2018.
WTA Finals 2019 will be held in Shenzhen, China and attracted many new sponsors. A Japanese cosmetic brand that is present in the billion-dollar market has contributed greatly to the total reward fund of $ 14 million - twice the level of last year's reward.
According to the organizers' announcement, even if they lost a group match, this year's champion still pocket $ 4.4 million, and if they lost two matches, the number will be 4.1 million. In the women's doubles, the bonus for the unbeaten championship has also been raised to a record of one million dollars.
"In the last five decades, WTA has pledged to raise the reward level to male athletes," said WTA CEO Steve Simon on August 2. "After working with partners in Shenzhen, we are delighted to announce unprecedentedly big rewards in tennis history. This confirms the tremendous growth of women's tennis in the world."
WTA Finals 2019 will take place from October 21-28, on the hardcourt in the home of Shenzhen Sports Complex. This is the 10th city in the world to host WTA Finals since its release in 1972.
