Pospisil is concerned that prize money for non-elite tennis players has not increased as it shouldGETTY IMAGES
Canadian tennis player Vasek Pospisil, newly elected to the ATP’s players council, has "quickly become the loudest voice agitating for change in the way tennis players are compensated," according to Scott Stinson of the TORONTO SUN. Pospisil has "embraced the role of advocate, explaining to anyone who will listen that while the players -- men and women -- have seen prize money increase dramatically for those that make the later rounds of tournaments, the compensation for the many more athletes who do not enjoy that level of success remains stagnant." Speaking Tuesday night after his victory over Karen Khachanov at the U.S. Open, Pospisil said tennis is "doing so incredibly well, but there’s still just 100 players or so that are making a good living." He added, "It shouldn’t be that way when the sport is so incredibly profitable.” Pospisil said that 14% of revenues from tennis tournaments are "returned to players in the form of prize money, and he has called on professionals to form some sort of union so that they can bargain for a better deal." Roger Federer last night "agreed that more money should go to those players who are not piling up wins." Federer: "I know the tournaments don’t find it very sexy giving it to first- or second-round losers. But the tour, it would be nice if the players could also survive" (TORONTO SUN, 8/29).
STILL NOT ENOUGH? ESPN.com's Peter Bodo noted while prize money for high performers on the ATP has "increased significantly, hitting record numbers year after year, critics say that not enough of the money trickles down to journeymen or players on the cusp of making it onto the tour." This year, first-round losers in both main singles draws will "collect $58,000, a $4,000 increase from last year." The men's and women's winners of the US Open this year will collect $3.85M out of a total purse of $57.2M (ESPN.com, 8/28).
