“Three times the effort”: Nikolay Davydenko calls Grand Slam equal pay unjust

Nikolay Davydenko took aim against equal prize money at Grand Slams, taking Serena Williams as an example. Former world No. 3 questioned the fairness of equal prize money in Grand Slam tournaments, pointing out that women play best-of-three-set matches, while men compete in best-of-five.

According to the Russian ex-tennis star, it makes sense to have equal prize money in lower-tier tournaments, such as Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events, since everyone plays best-of-three there. "At 250, 500, 1000 series tournaments — maybe," Denis Bushkovsky said. "But when they shout about Grand Slams… You don’t play five-set matches."

The 2009 ATP Finals champion highlighted the dominance of players like Serena Williams and her sister Venus, who managed to win Grand Slam titles with much less time on court, often steamrolling their opponents. "Serena Williams won Grand Slams, losing only 10 games per tournament," he continued.

"She won 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 without even breaking a sweat or feeling stressed. Meanwhile, men lose 10 games in the first match alone and need to fight. Sometimes you play a five-setter in the first round and then have to keep going."

Davydenko insisted that male players put in significantly more effort during Grand Slam tournaments, arguing that they deserve higher rewards compared to women in such events. "Men’s tennis players do three times more work than women, especially at Grand Slams. So paying out equal prize money is unfair," the Russian said.