Analysis of the Evolution of Inequalities in Prize Money due to Ranking in Professional Tennis

This thesis analyses the level and the evolution of income inequalities in professional tennis, using the Lorenz Curve and the Gini coefficient as indicators of inequality. The analysis is split into three parts. The first accounts for the level of income inequalities in both women and men's tennis for the year 2017. The second part looks at the evolution of income inequalities in men's tennis over the last decade. The last part focuses on income disparities within Grand Slams over the past thirty years. The main results show a high level of inequalities in both men's and women's tennis, with a Gini coefficient of around 0.91 in both cases. Furthermore, this coefficient has remained stable over the last 10 years, as shown in the analysis of men's tennis over time. However, Grand Slams have started to decrease prize money disparities across the different rounds of the tournaments. This conclusion is drawn from the evolution of the shares of total prize money attributed at each round of the tournaments. Finally, as it is a contemporary topic of discussion, a section is dedicated to income inequalities related to gender as well.