Elina Svitolina reacts to record WTA Finals prize money
In an interview as quoted by NY Times Elina Svitolina spoke about this year's Shenzhen's WTA Finals winner getting a record $4.75 million cheque. The Ukrainian said: “I think it is an amazing effort for WTA to achieve this record prize money, not only the highest at WTA, but in tennis in general. That’s a big achievement for WTA Tour, and hopefully we can do even more in the future.”
Svitolina was also asked about potentially winning the year-end championship for the second year in a row: “I don’t really think of my chances. I try to go with a fresh mind and to approach this tournament as all the other ones. Of course, it’s very special because it gathers only the eight best players in the world. For me last year, it definitely gave the confidence and this push to play well at the Grand Slams. I’m very motivated to come and play.”
The WTA chief executive Steve Simon said: “It’s a reflection of the value of our sport and our athletes. We are looking for a long-term investment. We had no pushback in the marketplace with respect to getting the compensation level up for the athletes to the record levels that we’ve achieved. We are doing everything we can to continue to raise the compensation levels for women athletes. The sport of tennis deserves a lot of credit with regards to equal pay. But we still have work to do in our lower levels. There are certainly challenges. All of our events have been increasing our prize money. The growth over the last 10 years has been consistent, and it’s moving forward at a good rate. It’s a great sign for our athletes.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2qY747H
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