The prize money for the Indian Wells tournament has been revealed, with the women’s champion taking home more cash than their male rivals.
For the first time since 2009, the prize money at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open is not being distributed equally between the ATP and WTA tours, with a 2.13% difference between the two.
The total combined prize money was $19,387,080, with the ATP tour receiving $9,693,540 and the WTA tour receiving $9,489,532. This represented a rise of 6.63% from 2024.
Yet the WTA Tour have confirmed that they have opted to give their champion more than the ATP Tour Masters 1000 winner at the same venue.
So while the men’s champion in Indian Wells will collect $1,201,125, the women’s champion will get a little more at $1,127,500.
The difference in cash distribution is also reflected across the draw, with losing finalists in the men’s tournament getting $638,750 and the women’s runner-up getting $599,625.
Losing semi-finals in the men’s event get $354,850 in prize money, which is a little more than the $333,125 female last four players collect.
The WTA Tour opted to give more money to players who go out in the earlier rounds of the competition, with players knocked out in the first round getting $30,801 and second round losers collecting $43,050. Those figures are more than male players who were knocked out early in the California desert.
This variable prize money distribution will not be reflected at the Miami Open that gets underway imminently, with prize money in the second part of the ‘Sunshine Double’ equal for the ATP Tour and WTA Tour events:
Miami ranking points and prize money
First round: 10 points | $23,760
Second round: 35 points | $35,260
Third round: 65 points | $60,400
Round of 16: 120 points | $103,225
Quarterfinals: 215 points | $189,075
Semifinals: 390 points | $332,160
Finalist: 650 points | $597,890
Champion: 1000 points | $1,124,380
With the WTA Tour generating a lot less revenue than the ATP Tour in television revenue, it is tough for many tournaments to pay equal prize money when they are hosting men’s and women’s events.
All four Grand Slam tournaments pay men and women the same money, even though one plays best-of-five-set matches and the other only competes over three sets.
It means that male players need to stay on court for longer to earn the same amount of money, with 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal offering his comments on the equal pay debate last year.
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“I don’t want to be hypocritical and say things that are easy to say and that I don’t feel. What do you want me to say? For me, the investment for women should be the same as for men,” said Nadal.
“The opportunities, the same. The salaries, the same? No, for what? It’s not unfair, what’s unfair is that there isn’t equal opportunity.
“I have a mother and a sister. If you tell me that men and women deserve the same opportunities, I’m a feminist. This term is taken to the extreme. If we’re talking about logical and normal things in this conversation, of course I want equality.
“For me, equality isn’t about giving away gifts, but if Serena Williams earns more than me, I want her to earn more than me. I want equality, I want women to earn more than men if they generate more than men.
“What bothers me is when people tell me that income and earnings should be equal. In tennis, for some reason, the payouts are almost equal in most events because at the time there was an opportunity for women’s tennis to be seen.
“Women’s tennis is very popular around the world. I don’t want to get into a fight about this, the problem for me is the discussion.”
READ NEXT: Did Carlos Alcaraz make a ‘big mistake’ with his comments after Jack Draper defeat?
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