Romanian tennis legend sues WTA for imposing prize equality between men and women

Romanian businessman and legendary tennis player Ion Tiriac, 79, winner of the double competition at Rolland Garros in 1970 and current owner of the Madrid Open, has sued the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and its CEO Steve Simon.

Tiriac believes it is incorrect that the tennis tournament organizers be made to pay prizes in the same amount to both male and female winners. He has argued that the female competitions generate less income than the male competitions. He said, as quoted by El Mundo newspaper:

A woman who works in the world of fashion is generating much more money than a man, but in tennis things are not the same. The economic contribution that the women’s tennis circuit is generating is much lower compared to that of the men’s tennis circuit. We have asked WTA several times that the contributions be established in a much more rational way and that the prizes be balanced.

Alexander Zverev, the Mutua Madrid Open 2018 male winner, and Petra Kvitova, the female winner, have received prizes of EUR 1,190,490 each.