Ash Barty dudded by unfair prize money mess after historic 48-year first

Ash Barty’s barely-believable hot streak hit a high point in Cincinnati but her latest title highlighted an awkward pay gap in tennis.

Ash Barty’s dream week ended on the perfect note as she beat Jil Teichmann in the final of the Cincinnati Masters to claim her fifth title of the year.

The Aussie superstar was flawless as she demolished her Swiss rival 6-3 6-1 to continue an incredible hot streak in 2021 and become the first Australian to win this tournament since her idol Evonne Goolagong Cawley did so 48 years ago in 1973.

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Barty can add her latest trophy to the silverware she’s won in Melbourne, Miami, Stuttgart and at Wimbledon this season as the world No. 1 remains a class above her opponents.

Locked at 3-3 in the first set, Barty won nine of the next 10 games to deny world No. 76 Teichmann what would have been the biggest win of her career after she made a surprise run to the final.

“I think being able to come through and play a really clean week and walk away with the title is probably not what I really expected of myself, but (it’s) certainly nice,” Barty told the Tennis Channel after a match in which she fired eight aces and broke Teichmann five times, facing just two break points herself.

The trophy cabinet is filling up fast.

However, Barty received less prize money than the men’s champion in Cincinnati, Alexander Zverev. The winning cheque for the women’s champion was $AUD357,000 while Zverev — who beat Andrey Rublev in straight sets for the title — walks away with $918,000.

The total prize money on offer for the men increased 14.75 per cent from last year to $6.8 million, while for the women it decreased six per cent overall compared to 2020, down to $2.96 million.

Last week tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg called it “awkward” as Naomi Osaka’s pledge to donate her winnings to the Haiti earthquake relief efforts highlighted the discrepancy between how much the men and women were paid this year in Cincinnati.

Barty can’t stop winning.

Barty’s straight sets victory over Teichmann comes after the world No. 1 won bronze in the mixed doubles at the Tokyo Olympics, where she represented Australia having recently claimed her second grand slam singles title at Wimbledon earlier in July.

The 25-year-old didn’t drop a set in Cincinnati and she’ll head into the US Open later this month as the hot favourite to scoop up major title number three.

Tennis writer Gaspar Ribeiro Lanca said Barty “really is one of a kind” while commentator David Law tweeted: “What a tennis player Ash Barty is.”

Barty has never been past the fourth round of a US Open but will be hoping for a career-best performance at Flushing Meadows by maintaining the stunning form she’s shown all year. She leads the WTA Tour with 40 wins this season.