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Post Info TOPIC: ITF increases investment into men's and women's tennis


Tennis legend

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ITF increases investment into men's and women's tennis


The ITF have announced today an increase in prize money and hospitality provided at women's ITF events and prize money at men's ITF events.

For details see this press release.

Headlines:-

  • Prize money at the two entry-level categories to be raised to provide an additional $5m of prize money (26% increase) to improve player earning potential.
  • Prize money at W15/M15 tournaments to increase from $15,000 to $20,000 and at W35/M25 tournaments from $25,000 to $30,000
  • Mandatory hospitality to be provided at W100, W75 and W50 womens events (at least 150 tournaments, up from 25 in 2024) to help with player costs.
  • Prize money to increase at W75 tournaments from $60,000 to $70,000.
  • 2025 to see a fourth consecutive year of prize money records for women ($20.7m, up from $15m in 2022), and a third consecutive year for men ($14.6m, up from $10m in 2022).

 



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Intermediate Club Player

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Step in the right direction

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Masters Series Champion

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Good improvements on womens side especially with the hospitality would encourage play up as well. The bottom rungs getting increased is good news especially considering they only last changed in 2016 and it had been years at the previous levels. Although the cost of living in those 8 years has changed drastically. However I always worry that the increase sometimes can have a negative effect that tournaments decrease as less federations and venues can afford them. Youd assume the ITF speak to the steak holders especially those that host week after week of tournaments like the venue in monastir as I feel they do help a lot of tennis players make a start on the pro circuit.

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ATP qualifying

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According to a post by Tara sharing an email from the ITF...

Based on feedback from some countries, the increase in prize money at W75 and M15/W15 level and mandatory hospitality for W50s will be delayed to 2026. The increase in prize money for M25/W35 and mandatory hospitality for W75s will still go ahead in 2025.

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Masters Series Champion

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Wonder if, especially, at the M15/W15 level if the ITF put the feelers out to the current tournaments to get an understanding if they would still be hosting tournaments. I wonder if as I had previously suggested this might have had a negative affect on the overall amount of tournaments/opportunities that would be available.

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Intermediate Club Player

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Anyone know what the new prize money breakdown actually looks like ?

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Tennis legend

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Latest rulebook

www.itftennis.com/media/13671/2025-wtt-regulations.pdf

Page 155 for the men's prizemoney breakdown and page 157 for the women's

And just to be confusing, the prize-money categories don't match the tournaments - see my first post in this thread.


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ATP qualifying

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The prize money categories in the rulebook are correct. Some of the changes in your first post have been put back a year as per my post a couple of posts up.

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Satellite level

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Wasnt sure where to post thisarticle in Tennis Head

Professional tennis has two sides. There's the 'Monte Carlo Millionaires' and then there's the others. Everyone knows about the lives of the fabulously famous and wealthy stars, but how much do you know about those professional players that have dedicated their lives to the sport they love but haven't yet made it onto your television screens?
Emily Webley-Smith is one of those players and she's a great friend of Tennishead so we asked her to reveal the truth about her time on the tour.


As I sat in the ocial transport from the hotel to a Challenger event I was playing recently in France, I scrolled through Instagram and read an article about how Daniil Medvedev had made $21,000 (more than £16,000) a minute playing at that exhibition event in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, I listened to a French player next to me saying that on match day in the official hotel she could not afford to eat breakfast, which cost 12 euros (£10).
The French player is an example of the fight we face every day at International Tennis Federation tournaments and lower-tier events on the WTA tour. I said that I too had not had breakfast, while she explained that it was impossible for her to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at tournaments given the prize money she was earning.
I had managed to spend on average a total of 15 euros (£13) a day on three meals during my four weeks in France, but still operated at a loss of 300 euros (£250) a week, even though I was travelling without a coach. The hotel, which was the cheapest in town, cost 52 euros (£43) a night. If you lose in the first round at ITF tournaments like this, taking into account the tax you pay and your entry fee, you earn about 200 euros (£165) in singles and 75 euros (£60) in doubles. The singles champions take home about 4,000 euros (£3,300) and the doubles champions about 700 euros (£580). The French player, incidentally, went on to reach the final the following week. She may well be a name to watch in the future if she can find a way through.
In the 20 years that I have competed, battles such as these have not changed. Nor has the prize money at the middle and lower levels of the professional game. While the costs of living and travelling have risen a great deal, tennis players across the globe face the same harsh reality as they always have. I believe it is getting harder to survive, let alone succeed. While the money at the top of the sport is increasing exponentially, there is a huge disparity with what is happening below that level.
Its not just about the money. This season the ITF changed their tournament structure for the third time in five years. They claimed it was for the better, but it soon became apparent that we had lost a whole category of tournaments as 2024 started with five tiers of tournaments, compared with six in 2023.
The lower-level events, offering fewer ranking points and less prize money, were subsequently stacked with higher-ranked players, very few of whom could improve their world ranking as there were fewer points on oer. Unable to defend the points they had made the previous year, let alone make more, there was no way they could move up the rankings. Once again, the top players were protected.
I hear people say that these players at ITF level are just not good enough to break through or that they are not working hard enough. I defy anyone to say this after coming on site at an ITF tournament to see the level and work ethic of most of the players. The desire is often actually higher than I see at some WTA matches, because the players cannot aord to miss an opportunity. You sometimes see this when a lower-ranked player sneaks into a big event, qualifies and goes deep into the tournament. It happened during the recent Asian swing (or at least it did for those who could aord to fly there).
Next year, finally, we are told that hospitality will be provided at all ITF events. While you are still involved in the event, the tournament will cover the hotel cost and possibly a meal. The men have had that benefit at ATP Challengers for the last 20 years. It will help, but a tournament director told me recently that the hotel subsidy will on average cost tournaments an additional 22,000 euros (£18,000). Without additional investment, the only choice for tournaments will be to lower the prize money tier of their event, which will reinforce the problem above.
Since this years US Open many of the top players have complained about the season being too long, saying that the travel schedule is too tough and that their motivation wanes going into the autumn. Below that level, however, I see 800 players ready to compete, with a huge desire to play in the few tournaments that are left in November and December. They need to earn money in the so-called o season. They might also be tired, especially with the less than perfect recovery options available at the events they have played throughout the year. -They have a job to do and are not complaining. They would just like to have breakfast in the hotel.
If we want tennis to be a truly global sport that is inclusive, non-elitist and accessible to all, then a great deal will have to change. A lack of money should not lead to good athletes being lost to the sport and should not dictate who can participate in it and who can afford to practise or compete. As it stands right now, I have deep concerns about the future of tennis and 2025.

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Satellite level

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A bit of trivia

Former LMFAO star Redfoo has made his professional tennis debut at the age of 49.

A long-time fan of the sport after playing as a junior before music took over, Redfoo who plays under his real name Stefan Gordy has made sporadic appearances in amateur events over the years.

But he reached a new high with a wildcard entry into an ITF M15 tournament, the first level in the pro ranks, in Egypt this week.


www.tennis.com/baseline/articles/redfoo-returns-former-lmfao-rapper-makes-main-draw-debut-on-itf-circuit-egypt

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Club Coach

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Thanks for posting the article from Tennis Head, EP. It's not that we didn't all already know that, but Emily lays it out in a very powerful way.

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