-- The retirement of the greatest women’s tennis player is giving a new generation of competitors the chance for sporting glory — and financial riches — in the most lucrative game for female athletes.
The US Open this year is awarding the most money of the four major global tournaments — $65 million in total — and was the first to equalize pay for men and women, highlighting the more favorable backdrop for females in tennis as sports such as soccer come under scrutiny for their disparate treatment. The Open’s location in New York City and impressive television ratings make it extra appealing to sponsors.
There’s another trend in women’s tennis that’s adding intrigue to the game: It’s leading the charge of professional athletes competing again after maternity leave. Williams reached four grand slam singles finals after giving birth to her first daughter in 2017 — she even won that year’s Australian Open in the early stages of her pregnancy. Victoria Azarenka came back around the same time after giving birth and has been ranked inside the top 20 nearly every year since.
On the men’s side, there hasn’t been much variety in the past two decades, portions of which saw Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras at the top of their games before Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic became what’s now known as the Big Three. Karolina Muchova, who achieved a career-high No. 10 ranking after losing to Gauff, took home even less.
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