The tennis season is up and running and so are some controversies. With the Australian Open over, the focus has now shifted to the tournaments coming up. Miami Masters 2024 is one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year and attracts a lot of interest from fans of the sport. However, the Miami Open has included pickleball in their scheduling this year, which has caused massive upheaval on social media platforms where tennis fans gather together to give their two cents about decisions made.
The Miami Masters 2024 main draw will kick off on March 20, 2024 with the final set for March 31, 2024. However, for the first time ever, pickleball and wheelchair tennis tournaments will be played parallelly. The wheelchair tournament is scheduled from March 26-28 at the Grandstand Court. Meanwhile, the pickleball tournament will be held between March 27-29 at the Butch Buchholz Stadium.
This will be the first time in the history of the competition that pickleball will be held alongside Miami Masters and the fans are not pleased by it. The new sport, pickleball is yet to gain popularity in America with many fans not accepting it as a real sport. Fans took to social media to show their displeasure about the announcement.
BREAKING:
Miami Open will feature Pickleball and Wheelchair tennis alongside the regularly scheduled Masters 1000 event.
Wheelchair tennis Mar 26 – Mar 28 on Butch Buchholz Court / Grandstand Court
Pickleball Mar 27 – Mar 29 on Butch Buchholz Stadium pic.twitter.com/wKuR3RpeMJ
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 29, 2024
pickleball is NOT a sport.
— Le Prince (@AtletiPrince) January 29, 2024
Love the wheelchair tennis inclusion but pickleball should be separate from tennis fully
— Ryan Stocker (@RyanStocker7) January 29, 2024
Cancel this now, pickleball actually requires no talent
— MrTop5 (NicsterV) (@MrTop5) January 30, 2024
Pretty lame to add pickleball. It is not tennis and trying to equate the two is annoying. They can have a pickleball event on their own time.
— Lucia Drumgould (@lucr8twi) January 29, 2024
Can we not link pickleball and tennis together please?
— Jackson Hall (@TonyAquavelva) January 29, 2024
Wheelchair tennis yes, but Pickleball? That has nothing to do with tennis. It’s like oversized ping pong for people from Florida who can’t be bothered to run.
— Terry Towelling (@TerryTowellingg) January 29, 2024
Tired of Tennis trying to promote pickleball but they do nothing to promote tennis doubles which is better than pickleball
— Front Porch Junkie (@frntporchjunki) January 29, 2024
Yes to wheelchair tennis, no to pickleball!
— Chewy Yorkie (@ChewyYorkie) January 29, 2024
Pickleball is a fake sport
— Lawrence (@lawrenceoloo) January 29, 2024
Well I won’t be going to this tournament now. Pickleball doesn’t belong next to a semi major tennis tournament
— Joseph cespedes (@Josephcespede18) January 30, 2024
Tennis stars like Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and Genie Bouchard have tried promoting pickleball. Bouchard has even participated in few tournaments throughout the year. However, there are still doubts about the popularity of pickleball in America. However, that is believed to change after the Miami Masters 2024.
Miami Masters 2024 prize money and other details
The Miami Masters 2024 is one of the most lucrative events on the tennis calendar. The second ATP 1000 event of the year attracts a lot of interest from the fans as top tennis stars participate in it. This year, the Miami Masters will have a record prize money for the winners. The total tournament prize money is $8,995,555 which is an increase from $8,600,000, last year.
In 2023, Daniil Medvedev defeated Jannik Sinner in the final to win the Miami Masters title. The Russian also earned $1,262,250 for his title win. In the women’s section, Petra Kvitova came up triumph by winning the title. With even more prize money allocated this time around, the event is sure to attract fans to watch their favorite stars compete at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
