Naomi Osaka has hit back at suggestions that women players should justify receiving the same amount of prize-money as their male counterparts by playing best-of-five set matches.
Osaka has made it through to the quarterfinals at the 2022 Miami Open. It is just the second time she has managed to advance that deep in any tournament over the last year.
The former world no.1 continued her fine form at the Miami Open, by defeating Alison Riske in straight sets to set up a quarter-final clash against Danielle Collins.
Speaking at the press conference after her match, one interviewer asked her about equal pay in women’s tennis. She said, “Oh, that’s a very interesting question that I didn’t think I’d get asked.”
Naomi Osaka on equal pay for women’s players
Women’s players currently receive the same amount of prize-money as their men’s counterparts at each stage of grand slam tournaments. The pay is equal despite women’s matches only being best-of-three set encounters compared to the men’s best-of-five.
Naomi is of the belief that the revenue generated by WTA justifies the equal pay women’s players receive at slams. She stands by her opinion despite the women playing shorter matches.
She said, “I don’t want to be rude. I’m like really trying to structure this in a way that’s not like off-putting. But I think it’s like decades of hard work, you know what I mean? Like up until now, the women have been putting in the work. It’s not just like, oh, it’s come out of nowhere that you get paid the same. You know what I mean?”
“So it’s like the history of the WTA has been leading them into advocating for equal pay with Billie Jean King, Venus, Serena, all that. And I also think ticket sales are important. I think the WTA has really good up-and-comers, the No. 1 player in the world, Iga is like 20, right? I don’t know. It’s who people find interesting. Coco is amazing, as well.”
She further added, “So I can’t really, you know, give you a PowerPoint presentation on your question, but for me, I feel like the revenue that you generate, like ticket sales is very important, and I think the WTA is doing a really good job with that.”