World number one Novak Djokovic has stirred up the 'men versus women' tennis debate that surfaced at Indian Wells.
After Serena Williams reacted to 'sexist' comments from tournament director Raymond Moore, Djokovic suggested men deserve more prize money than women, because their game attracts more viewers.
But Auckland tournament director Karl Budge, who's in Miami for the next Masters event thinks it's very much driven from market to market.
"We're going through an amazing era of men's tennis at the moment and arguably the best sporting rivalry we've had maybe even since your Ali-Frazer days in Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal], and you can throw Novak [Djokovic] in that mix as well," said Budge.
"As Serena pointed out yesterday, the women's final for the US Open sold out within minutes last year, well quicker than what the men's final did. When Li Na was in Auckland by far the biggest broadcast audience was coming for women's tennis given she unlocked that China market.
"It really does depend on who the athletes are and where those players appeal in their individual market."
When it comes to television ratings, Budge said Auckland's women's tournament was actually getting higher television ratings.
"If you look at our events in Auckland, we've actually had higher television ratings the last three years for the women's events than we have for the men's. Again, it all just comes down to which players you can secure. We've been very fortunate the last couple of years to secure the likes of Venus Williams which obviously boosts the public profile. I don't think there is a blanket rule, it really is market by market. It probably sounds like an on the fence answer, but it's pretty challenging to compare any other way."
Budge confirmed that Auckland's tournaments pay out different winners cheques, but added that the situation was out of his hands with both being different levels of tournaments.
"That's got nothing necessarily with equality or alike, it comes down to the tier of tournaments that we are. We're two different tier tournaments between the men and women's events. That's not quite comparing apples and apples.
"If we were like this week in Miami where it's combined - same tier event - then, yes, we would be equal. Given we're different tiers there is that disparity."
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