Gordon Reid: Wheelchair tennis must keep proving value to close prize-money gap

Glasgow Times

2 days ago

Reid and his partner Alfie Hewett are preparing for the upcoming US Open, which last week announced a large increase in winnings for the 2025 tournament.
But, while mixed doubles champions will now get one million dollars (£740,000) between them, the total pot for all wheelchair players is 1.69 million dollars (£1.25m).
Gordon Reid, left and Alfie Hewett were beaten in the Wimbledon final (Adam Davy/PA)
Reid and Hewett, who have won six titles at Flushing Meadows, with Hewett also winning four singles titles, have been a big driving force in the improvement in wheelchair tennis.
And the Scot knows that needs to continue for the players to be rewarded more financially.
'It's been 20 years since we started, so in terms of the age of the slams themselves, we're obviously very fresh, very new,' Reid told the PA news agency.
'As much as we want to obviously see an increase and the gap in the prize money closing, I think we also need to prove that we're adding something, adding value to the tournament.
'Hopefully then those come hand in hand – the opportunities that we get and the prize money.
'So we just have to try to play our part, to entertain as much as we can and hopefully move that direction together.'
The US Open is celebrating its 20th anniversary of wheelchair tennis and the British pair want to celebrate by winning their first doubles title there since 2022.
They were beaten in the Wimbledon final last month, but know they are heading to a strong surface.
'It will be just trying to produce some of the level of matches that we played for majority of this year, really,' Hewett said about what it will take to win.
'I mean, the final at Wimbledon was the first match we've lost all year in the doubles.
'Obviously it was probably one we wanted to win the most out of all of them as well.
'We've been working on a lot of stuff that in our game that we're going to try and take on to the hard court.
'A lot of it worked pretty well in Australia and absolutely similar conditions.'
Reid and Hewett have recently been back at Wimbledon holding a coaching clinic for Play Your Way To Wimbledon – a national competition with regional and county rounds, which sees winners get the chance to play at SW19.
'It's a fantastic event, giving anyone across the country, especially at grassroots level, the chance to play on the grass courts,' Reid added. 'We know how special that is.
'So to get to have that opportunity for so many people is amazing and having all the different inclusive categories is something we love to see.'