Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka ‘underpaid’ as Indian Wells prize money questioned
Former ATP Tour player Sam Querrey has claimed that both Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka were “underpaid” for their Indian Wells victories, questioning the prize money on offer at the prestigious event.
WTA world No 1 Sabalenka and ATP world No 2 Sinner both lifted the Indian Wells title for the first time on Sunday, with the duo winning hard-fought finals to prevail at the combined ATP-WTA 1000 tournament.
After two previous Indian Wells final losses, Sabalenka saved a championship point to beat leading rival Elena Rybakina in an instant classic, beating the Kazakh 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in the first final of the day.
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That was then followed by Sinner battling past a resurgent Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles final, with the Italian claiming a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) victory over his fellow former world No 1.
Equal prize money was on offer in Indian Wells this year, with Sabalenka and Sinner each rewarded with winnings of $1,151,380 for their efforts in Tennis Paradise.
However, despite the tournament being considered one of the biggest — if not the biggest — outside of the four Grand Slam events, Indian Wells prize money has decreased in some areas in recent years.
Twelve months ago, Jack Draper received $1,201,125 for lifting the men’s singles title at the tournament, around $50,000 more than Sinner received this year.
While Sabalenka’s paycheque was greater than the $1,127,500 awarded to Mirra Andreeva twelve months ago, prize money is not as high as it used to be at the tournament.
Both Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina received $1,262,220 for winning the singles titles as recently as 2023, while $1,354,010 was awarded to champions Dominic Thiem and Bianca Andreescu in 2019.
Speaking on Nothing Major, former world No 11 Querrey questioned the amount of prize money on offer in Tennis Paradise.
“Sinner and Sabalenka for winning Indian Wells both got $1.15m,” said Querrey.
“I am convinced they should get $3m.
“The players are underpaid, I believe they should be getting closer to $3m for winning that.”
Both Sabalenka and Sinner will return to action at the Miami Open this week, with the opportunity to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ present for both players.
The prize money on offer in Miami is exactly the same as it was in Indian Wells last fortnight, with the men’s and women’s singles champions both set to take home $1,151,380.
That is a slight increase on the $1,124,380 awarded to Sabalenka and Jakub Mensik for their respective singles triumphs twelve months ago.
WTA world No 1 Sabalenka is the top seed in the women’s draw and will look to defend the title, while Sinner will look to regain the men’s singles title he first won back in 2024.
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