The 2024 WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam ended successfully on the evening of May 11. Despite the fierce challenges faced by the national table tennis team, they still bravely defended the battle line, won the championship of all five events in one fell swoop, and won a prize of up to 326,050 US dollars (about 2.356 million yuan).
A total of 12 Chinese athletes participated in this international event. Wang Chuqin was particularly prominent, winning three titles and becoming the biggest winner, followed by two-time gold medalist Chen Meng. So, how are these bonuses distributed among the players? Let's take a closer look.
First of all, Wang Chuqin performed exceptionally in this competition, not only partnering with Sun Yingsha in the mixed doubles event, defeating many strong opponents, but also teaming up with Ma Long to win the men's doubles event, and finally won the men's singles title. According to the tournament's prize rules, each team receives $8,500 for doubles, which is split equally between the two players, but Wang Chuqin won by participating in two doubles, so he actually received a total of $8,500 from doubles. Together with the $65,000 he won in the singles event, the total prize money reached $73,500 (about 530,000 yuan).
This was followed by Chen Meng, who won both the women's singles and women's doubles events, with a total prize fund of US$69,250 (about 500,000 yuan). Although she did not compete in the mixed doubles event and did not win the prize money in the event, this victory means a lot to her, especially after a long period of failing to win the singles event.
Sun Yingsha also had a good performance in this tournament, although she failed to win the women's singles event, she won the mixed doubles event with Wang Chuqin, and her total prize money was US$37,300 (about 270,000 yuan).
As for the other team members, their prize money also varies, but regardless of the result, each of the participating finalists has a reward, with a prize of at least 12,750 US dollars (about 92,000 yuan). It shows their hard work and persistence in the game.
Although there is still a gap between the prize money of table tennis and some other sports, we still look forward to the growing maturity and growth of the commercial development of this sport.