The reason they are paid the same in tennis is that they bring in approximately the same revenue via sponsorship, ticket sales, etc. Women's tennis is basically as popular as men's at this point.
However, this is not the case in professional basketball, soccer or even golf. In all three cases, the men's leagues far outperform the women's in terms of getting revenue from the marketplace...and the commensurate salaries / prize purses reflect this. The US Womens Soccer team made a big deal about this recently, but when you look at the income produced by the men in professional leagues vs. women's leagues, there are stark differences.
I don't think that's true in the slightest. Men's tennis is much, much more popular across the board! That's actually why guys like Novak Djokovic were complaining!
However, this is not the case in professional basketball, soccer or even golf. In all three cases, the men's leagues far outperform the women's in terms of getting revenue from the marketplace...and the commensurate salaries / prize purses reflect this. The US Womens Soccer team made a big deal about this recently, but when you look at the income produced by the men in professional leagues vs. women's leagues, there are stark differences.