Taylor Townsend, the current world number one in doubles, has openly criticized ongoing inequalities in professional tennis regarding prize money and scheduling. During the North American hard court swing, Townsend’s strong singles performance has brought attention not only to her skills but also to the challenges faced by women players in comparison to their male counterparts.

The 29-year-old American has competed extensively alongside male players, including partnering with Ben Shelton in this year’s US Open mixed doubles. Despite often sharing the court with men, Townsend has sharply pointed out the disparities in treatment between the ATP and WTA tours.

Calls for Improvements in Tennis Rules and Scheduling

As the only mother in tennis history to reach the doubles world number one ranking, Townsend has become a prominent figure advocating for change. In an interview with Claytenis.com, she expressed a need for the sport to reassess its current framework.

“Yeah, I do. There’s definitely room for improvement — with the rules, the scheduling, a lot of things need to be reassessed.”

—Taylor Townsend, Professional Tennis Player

Her criticism extends beyond just scheduling, as many players, including Carlos Alcaraz, have also voiced frustration over the demanding tennis calendar. Townsend emphasized the lack of a proper off-season and the imbalance in prize money distribution outside grand slam events.

“A big one is the schedule — there’s no real off-season,”

she said.

“And when it comes to prize money, the distribution throughout the year isn’t balanced, aside from the Slams and a few Masters 1000s, since not all of them offer equal prize money.”

Townsend described how players constantly face challenges such as travel, shifting surfaces, and ball changes, which the rule-makers themselves do not experience.

“Yet we’re expected to perform at our best every single week. At the end of the day, we’re human beings — not robots.”

—Taylor Townsend, Professional Tennis Player

Although all four Grand Slams have provided equal prize money to men and women since 2007, this fairness has not yet extended fully to other tournaments on the ATP and WTA Tours.

Examining Prize Money Disparities at Major Events

An example highlighting the prize money gap is the Cincinnati Open, where men and women compete on the same courts playing the same best-of-three set format. Despite this parity in competition, the ATP tournament’s prize pot exceeds the WTA’s by more than $4 million.

Townsend, who has reached the third round in singles at Cincinnati, earns $27,560 less than her male counterparts for similar results. The WTA acknowledges this imbalance and aims to equalize prize money across all 1000-level combined events by 2027.

Support for a Possible Merger of ATP and WTA Tours

There has been speculation about merging the ATP and WTA tours to create a more unified and streamlined professional tennis schedule. Townsend openly supports this idea, drawing on her experience playing in World TeamTennis, where men and women compete cohesively on the same teams.

“Absolutely. I think it would be amazing,”

Townsend said.

“I played World TeamTennis for seven years, and having men and women on the same team was always a lot of fun. A joint tour would be great — aligning the schedules and making things more consistent would really help.”

While no formal plans for such a merger have been announced, tournaments like the Cincinnati Open already host ATP and WTA players simultaneously, hinting at future collaboration opportunities.

Upcoming Matches and Further Opportunities for Townsend

Taylor Townsend aims to achieve her best singles performance yet at the Cincinnati Open, where she is set to face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for a spot in the fourth round. She will also compete in the doubles draw as a former champion, teaming with Shuai Zhang as the third seeds.

Townsend’s outspoken advocacy for fairer conditions and prize equality reflects a growing demand in tennis for systemic reforms that could benefit players across both tours. Her calls for change may influence ongoing discussions as the sport looks toward a more equitable future.