IGA SWIATEK'S INSANE HOURLY EARNINGS AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN SPARK DEBATE OVER EQUAL PAY FOR MEN AND WOMEN

  • Polish star is chasing her first title at the Aussie slam 
  • Has carved her way through the opening four rounds 

Life is good for Iga Swiatek, with the Polish tennis star carving her way through the Australian Open at a staggering hourly rate of pay while also being cleared of any further action following doping allegations.

The world No.1 has never won the Down Under grand slam but has placed herself in the best possible position to change that, smashing Eva Lys 6-0 6-1 to surge into the quarter finals.

It means that Swiatek has put a bagel on her opponent in her last three matches, winning at least one set 6-0 in a series of devastating displays.

Before dispatching Lys, the Polish star blitzed Slovak tennis player Rebecca Šramkov 6-0 6-2 and UK star Emma Raducanu 6-1 6-0

That means when her prize money is divided by her time on the court, Swiatek is earning a stunning $148,000 an hour - and that has some fans questioning whether some female stars are being better paid than the men based on hourly rates.

Not all tennis fans are impressed by her results at Melbourne Park, slamming the draw for gifting her a golden path to the second week of the Open.  

'It's not even amazing coming from her playing players outside of the top 10. Like I don't understand why people acting as she's doing big things,' one fan commented. 

'She hasn't face a top ten player since the beginning of the tournament.'

'Has she faced anyone in the Top 30 yet?' asked another.

'This isn't a flex either. Check all of the women's scores from the year and you will be shocked at how many bagel and breadstick sets have been played.'

'All low quality players. But it shows how much better she is,' posted yet another. 

The revelation has also reignited the debate over whether women should play five-set matches at grand slam events, the same as the men, to even up their earnings at tournaments where there's no difference in prize money between the genders, as is the case at the Australian Open.

'Play 5 set matches = same pay,' one fan posted.

'The men should complain about the disparity in hourly rates.. its a joke,' fumed another.'

'Equality apparently = do less, get paid the same,' added another.

Swiatek's lopsided results have also come while the Polish star has been sweating on whether she could face further scrutiny over doping allegations.

However, she has now learned that she is free to continue playing with no further action to be taken after she tested positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample last August.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has opted not to lodge an appeal in her doping case, leaving her 'satisfied' with the result.

Soon after Swiatek's victory over Lys, WADA announced it would not take the Polish superstar's case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport - as it has done with that of men's world No.1 Jannik Sinner.

It means Swiatek, who has already served a one-month suspension, is free to focus on adding a sixth major title to her record.

'For sure I'm just satisfied that I can get a closure, kind of, and I can just move on and finish this whole process, because I just want to play tennis and focus on the tournament,' Swiatek said.

Swiatek will now face a much sterner challenge, as she prepares to take on No.8 seed Emma Navarro for a place in the semi-finals.

'I have to treat Emma as a player that I never played, because she, for sure, has made, like - we both made huge progress since that time that we faced each other,' she said.

'Her journey has been pretty nice and amazing. I saw the US Open matches. She played really well and (she is) fighting for every point and everything.

'It's a bit different when you don't know the opponent that well and you haven't faced them a lot of times. But I don't mind. I'll just prepare and I'll be ready.'

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2025-01-21T01:00:56Z