Sport

Hingis calls for talks on boycott

World number one Martina Hingis, pushing for equal prize money for women, has called for talks between players and the Women'…

Wed Jan 05 2000 - 00:00

World number one Martina Hingis, pushing for equal prize money for women, has called for talks between players and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) in a bid to prevent a possible boycott.

Hingis, who is in Hong Kong for an exhibition event, said the WTA should provide equal prize money as the men's ATP Tour.

"I hope the problem is solved by all parties sitting down and talking together to find a solution agreeable to everyone. But a boycott could happen if we don't get our way," said Hingis. "I think we women deserve equal prize money to what the men are getting. At present we get around half, or even less than what the men get while at the same time the women's game has improved a lot in recent years."

Hingis added: "Anything is possible if this issue is not resolved soon. It could go as far as a boycott if all we girls stick together. Hey, you get people on the streets rebelling all the time . . . why not us."

READ MORE

Hingis, who arrived in Hong Kong fresh from a one-month break, is on her way to Australia where she will take part in a tournament in Sydney before defending her Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

She said: "The popularity of women's tennis is on the rise. TV ratings are high. I think increasing the prize money for women would be the next step."

Last year Hingis won £3,292,000 in prize money to top the WTA list.

But she said: "Everyone thinks we earn a lot from prize money but they forget about taxes which take away a lot of it, sometimes even as much as half of it."

Meanwhile, the lowly ranked Thai duo clawed their way to a surprise first round victory against home court favourites Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic at the Hopman Cup mixed team tournament yesterday.

The men's and women's singles ended even, with Tamarine Tanasugarn upsetting Dokic 6-1 6-4 and Philippoussis predictably out-slamming Paradorn Srichaphan by the same score.

But the Thais dug in during the deciding mixed doubles to beat the Australians 3-6 6-3 6-4. Later, South Africa beat Sweden 2-0 with Amanda Coetzer dismissing Asa Carlsson 6-4 6-0 in 71 minutes. Wayne Ferreira beat Jonas Bjorkman 6-4 6-4.