Bitter surprise for Iga Swiatek after winning the Madrid Open: where's the money?!

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka swapped roles this year at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open, in a thrilling final which saw the Polish tennis star beat the Belarusian in a tight standoff.

The 2024 season has been a very fruitful year for Swiatek who has stood her ground and consolidated her dominance as one of the best female players on the tour today.

Swiatek took the match 6-4,5-7, and 7-6 after more than three hours of world-class tennis. The crowd was in complete awe.

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The Polish tennis star broke into tears upon winning her 20th singles title. She had dedicated a lot of time and effort to the finals and managed to crown herself a champion. At just 22 years old, she is paving a path of endless victories. Nevertheless, Swiatek was a little let down regarding the prize money...

Upon winning the match, the Polish tennis player was handed a check amounting to €963,225 (£826,656/$1.03m). An astronomical figure that only elite tennis players encounter...

What is the big difference? That Sabalenka, winner of the previous edition, had received a similar check the previous year... worth €1,105,265 (£950k/$1.2m). What happened? Why was it 13% less?

The same thing happened to Sabalenka. Her check as runner-up was €512,260 (£439k/$551k), in comparison to the €580,000 (£497k/$624k)that her rival received in 2023, the now champion Iga Swiatek.

Why the change in payouts? The tournament has decided to trickle down the prize money to benefit those athletes who get knocked out in the earlier stages. The prizes in the last rounds were reduced to increase the prizes given to those who fell in the first rounds.

It is about democratizing the benefits in favor of those who do not usually reach these final rounds and making a more equitable distribution in the rounds in which there are more players.

The 2024 WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open has distributed a total of €8,770,480 (£7.5m/$9.4m), of which almost 7 million have gone to the players who have not managed to reach the final.

By the way, Iga Swiatek is already close to $30 million in earnings throughout her career, while Aryna Sabalenka exceeds $23 million. Let us know what you think in the comments!

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