Emma Raducanu sparks controversy with honest admission about 'never taking a stand' on equal pay debate in tennis

Emma Raducanu sparked controversy after stating that she would never take a stand in the ongoing equal pay debate in tennis. Her remarks drew backlash from fans, many of whom pointed to the historic efforts of former players like Billie Jean King, who fought for equality in the sport.

While Grand Slams, among a few other events, offer equal prize money, players on the WTA Tour generally earn significantly less than their ATP counterparts. When asked about the issue ahead of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s, 22-year-old Raducanu said she prefers not to get involved, admitting:

"I'm never really going to take a stand either way."

She added that she doesn’t stay updated on decisions made by tennis boards and doesn’t play for money, though she acknowledged that the sport is "extremely expensive" to sustain, especially with her profile.

Her comments were posted on X, and fans slammed the Briton for her views.

"We about to head into Wimbledon 18 years later and these women are embarrassing to the fight Venus put up and Billie Jean was fighting even longer smh," one fan wrote. "Whew these gals are EMBARRASSING," another fan said. "We need to make tennis available for poor people because these girls all come from rich families and don't care enough to fight for the money women deserve," a third fan wrote.

Here are a few more fan reactions to Emma Raducanu's comments.

"Let’s ask her again when the sponsors’ cheques stop coming in," one fan stated. "Week after week we have a WTA player or so downgrading their own job please stand up," another fan wrote. "The individualistic mindset man 😭😭" yet another fan wrote.

The women’s event (WTA 500) at Queen’s Club has a prize pool of $1,415,000, while the men’s event (also an ATP 500 tournament) offers more than double that amount, with a prize pool exceeding $2.89 million.

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Emma Raducanu spoke against the pay gap between the ATP and WTA in 2024

Emma Raducanu at the HSBC Championships - Source: Getty

In early 2024, Emma Raducanu had criticized the prize money disparity at the Italian Open.

"The prize money gap is huge on the ATP Tour, which I don’t necessarily think is fair, but equally playing three sets in the Slams is a lot better than the men’s five, which is brutal," she told The Times last year.

Although she previously voiced concerns about the "huge" ATP–WTA prize gap and praised women’s technical prowess over brute strength, Raducanu later opted against taking a firm public stance.

In on-court matters, her 2025 season has been a mix of promise and challenge. After a third-round exit at the Australian Open and some early losses, she rebounded strongly with a quarter-final run in Miami.

On clay, she made modest progress with a few wins before reaching the quarter-finals at the HSBC Championships at Queen's on grass, where she was halted by Qinwen Zheng amid back struggles.

That result helped her reclaim the British No. 1 ranking. Now ranked world No. 36, Raducanu is preparing for Wimbledon, hoping to navigate her ongoing fitness concerns.

Edited by Anisha Chatterjee