Retired tennis player
John Isner has taken issue with the fact that ATP star
Andrey Rublev earned less for his 2024
Madrid Open victory that
Novak Djokovic did during the Serbian's title run in 2019, as pointed out by a tennis journalist.
The Grand Slams and ATP Masters events are the most financially lucrative tournaments on the ATP Tour, with players earning prize money proportionate to their performance at these events. Rublev defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Madrid final, earning a huge sum for his ATP Masters victory.
Prize money now lower than it was before, according to tennis journalist
Renown tennis journalist Jon Wertheim recently pointed out the fact that the amount of money being earned by tennis players now is significantly less than it has been in the past. Wertheim pointed out the difference in the Madrid prize money won this year by Rublev and Djokovic in 2019, highlighting the significant drop.
"In 2019, @DjokerNole won the Madrid event and earned €1,202,520...The other day, Rublev won Madrid and earned €963,225....Yes, top players nobly agreed to reallocate prize money downward...But this is a considerable drop-off, esp. given the overall sports economy," wrote Wertheim on Twitter.
Isner was quick to react to this revelation, agreeing with Wertheim and stating the prize money situation in tennis was a joke.
"Thank you, Jon. It’s a complete joke," said Isner.