From player to tournament director, Valérie Tétreault welcomes path to equal prize money in Montréal

FLASHBACK: Simona Halep earned $439,700 for winning the 2022 National Bank Open compared to the $915,295 awarded to men’s winner Pablo Carreño Busta.

Equal prize money came too late for Valérie Tétreault, the tennis player. Though the Canadian peaked just outside the world’s Top 100 in the wake of parity on the Grand Slam stage, pay disparities between men and women persisted on the tour level.

“It was not only something that I was merely aware of, but I would also say that my career was probably cut shorter than it could have been,” the former No. 112 reflected over the phone. “Less players were able to make a living by playing tennis because of the prize money. I feel like in my time, you had to be near the Top 50 if you really wanted to be able to make some earnings and pay for a bigger team to travel with you.”

The news that the WTA’s revamped circuit structure includes a path to equal prize money couldn’t have come at a better time for Valérie Tétreault, the tournament director. The first woman at the helm of the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montréal, Tétreault reveled at the prospect of assuming her new position at a time that not only looks back on the WTA’s trailblazing past but also celebrates its giant leap forward.

“It kind of feels like it was all arranged, right?” she laughed. “I don’t think that was the case, but the timing is obviously great and more significant that it happens while we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the WTA. It’s a way to look back at everything that was accomplished through the years, but also a way to look forward and be optimistic of all that is to come.”

According to the release, the Omnium Banque Nationale and its sister tournament in Toronto will achieve equal prize money by 2027, which Tétreault considers to be the culmination of her time spent working towards gender equality within Tennis Canada.

“Investing in women’s tennis has been a big priority,” she explained. “It became a strategic pillar for us, and so we started investing more money and resources and energy into growing the women’s sport. It’s really about growing all levels, to create opportunities for young girls on court but also for the ones who decide to play NCAA, that they remain involved. I’m obviously an example of that as someone who was able to make a career in tennis without necessarily being on the court.

“The big thing that was missing was to be able to finally offer equal prize money at our tournaments. The gap was huge, and that’s why it will obviously take a couple of years for us to close that gap, but to see prize money already going up significantly in the next couple of years will make a huge difference for all of those players.”

Indeed, for all that internal effort, the pay gap was indeed huge, and only grew wider in last 10 years. The 2012 Canadian Open men’s and women’s champions received $522,550 and $385,000, respectively; in 2022, former No. 1 Simona Halep earned just $439,700 compared to the $915,295 awarded to men’s winner Pablo Carreño Busta.

The whopping disparity inspired Canadian player Denis Shapovalov to write a stirring column for The Players’ Tribune earlier this year, advocating for equal prize money on behalf of the women who supported and shaped his career.

“In the end, it takes collective work to make something like this happen,” said Tétreault. “What the players have is a voice and a platform to make sure they can bring attention to topics like this. That helps them rally more people, and that’s usually how we can start making change. I think that’s what we’ve seen in the last couple of years.

“If you look at the story of the WTA, that’s how this all started with Billie Jean King, so it’s so important that the players are aware of the business of sport, and that they can talk about it in order to fight for what they think is right.”

The timing is obviously great and more significant that it happens while we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the WTA. It’s a way to look back at everything that was accomplished through the years, but also a way to look forward and be optimistic of all that is to come. Valérie Tétreault

The changes to circuit structure extend beyond prize money: both Montréal and Toronto will become two-week tournaments starting in 2025, joining the likes of Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome, Cincinnati and Beijing in a move that Tétreault, an advocate for player mental health, will be another net gain for the current and next generation.

“It’s quite demanding on both the mind and body to be in a new city every week, to be playing back-to-back matches,” she mused. “So, I think if you want to have a long career in tennis, you need to find the right balance to be able to have a life outside of the tennis courts. I think this new format will allow for that: when you visit a city, you’ll have a little more time to enjoy yourself and see more than just the hotel room and tennis courts.

“For the tennis fans over here, it means they’ll be able to experience more tennis and that hopefully even bring in new fans who never got the chance to experience our tournament in the past. Right now, we have 15 sessions of tennis in our event; we’re going to go up by 10 more sessions, and so that’s quite significant.”

The imminent expansion has created some challenges for Tétreault, who presides over one of the more intimate 1000-level tournaments.

“We’ll have to be more creative with the space that we have. That’s some of the work we’re already starting to do: for example, we’ll be adding a mezzanine with two additional floors in our indoor facilities so we have more space for the players. It’s about creating space from within, basically!”

Through all of the changes, Tétreault believes the one constant will be the tournament’s enthusiastic fans, the very same who cheered her on as a player and now those she hopes to entertain, engage, and inspire as tournament director.

“The response from fans has always been great,” she said, voice full of pride. “That’s something of a signature of our tournament, the fact that the Centre Court is full regardless of whether it’s a first-round match on a Monday afternoon or for the Sunday final. I hope it continues to be like that.”