Rafael Nadal Thinks Viewership Should Determine Men's and Women's Tennis Earnings
11-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal made headlines on Tuesady after telling an Italian magazine that the discussion surrounding equal pay for women's players is " a comparison we shouldn't even make" because of the viewership differences.
Nadal related the topic to the difference in pay between female and male models.
According to Yahoo Sports, the Australian Open men's final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic drew almost 25% more viewers than the women's final between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki – even though both aired on ESPN.
However, when the Williams sisters are involved in Grand Slam events, women's tennis has seen a greater viewership. According to Sports Media Watch, the U.S. Open drew more television viewers for the women's final than the men's every year from 2010-14.
BBC also reports that the ATP men's tour drew 973 million viewers in 2015 compared to the women's WTA Tour, which drew just 395 million.
