Shapovalov believes more players will withdraw from tournaments due to lower prize money

With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a strain on the economy, some tournaments are being forced to cut down on their prize money. According to World No.12 Denis Shapovalov, this could lead to more players withdrawing from these tournaments due to the lack of an adequate financial incentive.

A prime example is the Miami Open, which will be slashing it's prize money pool from $16.7 million in 2019 to $6.68 million in 2021. This year’s men’s and women’s champions will be rewarded with a payment of $300,110 compared to $1.354M in 2019.

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Due to the reduced prize money, Shapovalov believes that the players will be less motivated to play at lower level tournaments.

"I definitely think there’s going to be a lot of withdrawals and a lot of people not going to tournaments because the prize money is low,” said the Canadian.
“In a way it’s not motivating to play every week and play all the big tournaments because there’s not really a lot in it for us other than the slams at this point that are paying just as much or better, like in Australia this year."

Shapovalov is not the only one to have this point of view, as his sentiments have been echoed by Frenchman Benoit Paire and even WTA's Elina Svitolina. Both stated that the current COVID-19 environment is having an impact on their play, with the reward not being sufficient enough to keep them motivated for certain events.

"Hopefully the ATP or someone can do something to improve the prize money and bring it back to what it was, but it is what it is right now,” added Shapovalov.