Chen Meng has officially withdrawn from the WTT world rankings, and she is not the first to announce her withdrawal; Fan Zhendong had already done so before her. Why did they withdraw from the world rankings? Simply put, WTT has introduced new regulations that not only assign a score of 0 for missing a match but also impose fines. For someone like Chen Meng, with her world ranking, missing a single match incurs a penalty of $5,000. Such hefty fines have left Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng feeling unable to bear the cost, as both were still recovering from their participation in the recently concluded Paris Olympics and were not yet physically prepared for competition. As a result, they had no choice but to withdraw from the world rankings; otherwise, they would face significant financial penalties for each missed event.
Chen Meng and Fan Zhendong have both expressed their inability to shoulder the fines, which has drawn attention from many fans to the prize money earned by table tennis athletes. Taking Chen Meng as an example, who has withdrawn, how much is her annual WTT prize money? Unlike tennis, where prize money can easily reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, the highest prize money for the women's singles champion at the WTT annual finals is just 40,000,whichisthehighestsingleprizemoneythroughouttheyear.Othergrandslameventsoffer30,000, star challenge events 10,000to20,000, and even branch event singles champions can receive several thousand dollars.
To get to the point, how much prize money can Chen Meng earn by playing WTT for a year? According to statistics, Chen Meng's prize money on the WTT circuit in 2024 was $124,475 (RMB 899,656), ranking her 7th among global female athletes.
RMB 890,000 seems somewhat acceptable at first glance, but according to the national table tennis team's regulations, athletes can only keep half of the prize money, with the remainder going to the coaching staff, sparring partners, etc. This means that Chen Meng's prize money is reduced to RMB 450,000, and if taxes are deducted, after a busy year, Chen Meng's prize money amounts to about RMB 350,000.
After a year of hard work, participating in multiple competitions per month, the final year-end prize money is only RMB 350,000. And if we follow WTT's rules, the fine for missing a single match is $5,000 (about RMB 36,000). For example, if Chen Meng ultimately misses 5 matches in 2024, she would face another RMB 180,000 in fines, leaving her with only RMB 170,000. Now you understand why Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng both expressed their inability to bear the cost, right? Moreover, there is an important point: WTT's prize money is subject to delayed payment. Previously, African player Aruna had already complained about WTT, while WTT's fines must be paid immediately. This back-and-forth makes you realize even more how "dominant" WTT is. It's no wonder that Chen Meng and Fan Zhendong decided to withdraw directly. There isn't much money in this, it's better to participate in the China Table Tennis Super League and commercial matches, which offer higher income, and they can also spend time with their families. Why not do that instead?