Elina Svitolina has called for equal prize money at ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments. Her comments came after reaching the Indian Wells quarter-finals. She argued that parity at Grand Slams is not mirrored across the 250, 500 and 1000 levels.
Tour Life with Monfils
Svitolina spoke about travelling on tour with husband Gael Monfils. At Indian Wells, she explained what it looks like touring with Monfils. She said Monfils spends a lot of time inside to preserve energy for matches.
Svitolina noted that Monfils is eight years older than her and that his game is more physical. Svitolina has spent 18 years as a professional and has been ranked as high as three. She reflected on what she has learned from his approach.
Svitolina and Monfils began their relationship in 2018 and publicly confirmed it in 2019. The pair briefly separated in 2021 but married later that year, and they welcomed daughter Skai in 2022. The timeline of those milestones frames how Svitolina described life on the road, and it also contextualizes comments about how Monfils structures his time around matches.
Pushing for Prize Money Parity
Svitolina pointed to Indian Wells as an example that offers the same amount for men and women, while highlighting discrepancies elsewhere. At the Cincinnati Open last year, the men’s champion received $1, 124, 380 while the women’s champion received $752, 275. This is a concrete gap she cited when making her case.
If the WTA commitment to provide equal prize money at combined 1000 tournaments by 2027 continues, then the gap Svitolina highlighted—illustrated by the Cincinnati Open figures—would narrow at the highest non-Grand Slam level. That scenario would mean more tournaments match Indian Wells’ approach and create a clearer baseline for parity across 1000 events by the 2027 milestone.
Potential Changes Ahead
Should Gael Monfils retire this year, Svitolina’s touring routine could change. The spending-more-time-inside approach she described would be less directly tied to a partner’s match schedule. Retirement would alter who she travels with and how the day-to-day cadence on tour influences her own energy management, given Monfils’ age difference and physical style.
The next confirmed signal is the WTA’s commitment to equal prize money at combined 1000 tournaments by 2027. What is not resolved is which specific 1000 events beyond Indian Wells will adopt parity first, and how quickly the prize structures at events like Cincinnati will align. Expect the 2027 deadline to be the concrete milestone that tests whether Svitolina’s public push and the WTA pledge translate into consistent pay equality across top-tier non-Grand Slam tournaments.