Emma Raducanu has criticised the gender pay gap after the Italian Open in Rome's prize money for the female athletes paid significantly less than the men's prize money pot.
As the French Open approaches, offering equal prize money to both sexes, Raducanu highlighted the disparity evident in other tournaments such as the Italian Open, which awarded its female champion £550,000 compared to £757,000 for the male champion.
“A lot of women’s players are technically better,” Raducanu told The Times. “They rely on speed, agility, and brain rather than brute strength. The prize money gap is huge on the ATP tour, which I don’t necessarily think is fair, but equally playing three sets in the slams is a lot better than the men’s five, which is brutal.”
Raducanu has faced numerous challenges recently, having missed out on many tournaments due to surgery and injury, and made a return this season. She took nearly four weeks off from competition following a gruelling stretch of six matches in 11 days, which left her exhausted. The 21-year-old also dropped out of this year's French Open qualifying, opting instead to focus on building her fitness.
Despite her on-court efforts, Raducanu has faced online criticism for her social media and commercial campaigns. Recent Instagram posts include a photoshoot for Dior and a picture of her enjoying a glass of red wine shortly after a first-round defeat at the Madrid Open. However, she defended her actions, stating, “There are those who see me doing a shoot or posing for a commercial and they don’t see the seven hours before that at the training centre, doing physio, gym, hitting balls. But if on a rare evening I go to a premiere and I get photographed, that’s my downtime.”
Raducanu’s financial success off the court is also notable. Her company, Harbour 6, posted profits of nearly £10 million in 2023, despite her prize money for the season being just under £200,000. The bulk of her income comes from sponsorship deals with major brands such as British Airways, Porsche, Tiffany, Dior, Evian, Wilson, Nike, HSBC, and Vodafone.
Raducanu attributes her success to her family’s strong work ethic. Reflecting on her upbringing, she acknowledged that her parents were classic “pushy parents” during her junior tennis career. While she observed that other players with more lenient parents no longer play tennis, she expressed gratitude for her parents’ approach and doesn’t “regret any of their methods.”
The gender pay gap has been an issue in tennis for decades. Her Sport's Deb Shaw took a deep dive into the backstory on how Billie Jean King saved tennis and the future of women’s sport 50 years ago, and explored the gender pay disparity. Watch the full episode here:
