Tennis Canada on the challenges for women who receive equal prize money

Women’s tennis players at the National Bank Open in Toronto and Montreal will be awarded the same prize money as men from 2027 – and Tennis Canada’s Gavin Ziv said it’s been a “long, long road” to get there.

The chief tournament officer explained in an interview with CTV Your Morning on Friday why the pay gap has been a problem for so long.

“Why is there a big difference in (salary)? Essentially it’s the revenue of the sport, especially the commercial dollars for TV rights,” he said.

“Men’s and women’s TV rights are sold differently around the world and have not brought in the same dollars on the women’s side as the men before. It’s a big inequality.”

The Women Tennis Association announced last week that it is setting up a new commercial structure to better sell the sport and generate more revenue, bringing wages to par in 2033.

Ziv explained that some tournaments, such as the Bank National Open, will expand, allowing revenue to grow and reinvest prize money. The Canadian tournament will take place in two weeks instead of one from 2025, when Tennis Canada also tries to gradually close the wage gap.

The men’s players at this year’s Bank National Open in Toronto will receive $8.8 million in prize money, while the women will receive $3.72 million.

Watch the full interview in the video at the top of this article.