Pacific Northwest Open to offer equal payout to men’s and women’s winners for first time

The Pacific Northwest Open Tennis Championships debuted in 1891, the same year Dr. James Naismith invented basketball. One hundred twenty-six years later, hundreds of players from across the world still travel to Tacoma for a week of tennis.

Nick Moxley of Tacoma is entering his third year as the director of the tournament, one of the world’s longest-running tennis tournaments. His tenure as director represents a fraction of the tournament’s history, but Moxley acknowledged — like basketball —how much it has evolved.

“If you think of Tacoma in 1890, there was nothing here,” Moxley said.

This week marks the first time men and women will receive equal prize money. Singles champions earn $4,000, and doubles champions get $2,000. The mixed doubles title earns $800. No other tournament in the Pacific Northwest Pro Circuit has awarded equal prize money, Moxley said.

Home away from home

Winning participants will leave Tacoma with a nice check, but the majority of players will walk away with more money spent than earned. Tennis players from out of town need places to stay during the tournament, so a group of about 30 Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club members provide free housing to help offset some of the players’ travel costs.

Hosts typically provide the athletes with free meals and transportation to and from the club.

Colleen Barta has worked the tournament desk above the courts since 1998. Barta has hosted at least one player almost every year she has been involved.

“It means a lot to them because so many of them are living on a pretty tight budget,” Barta said. “To be able to stay with a family really helps them.”

Barta has housed players from Canada, as well as players from various parts of the U.S. One year, she hosted four Boise State tennis players.

“Financially, it’s an advantage for them,” Barta said. “But we do it out of the goodness of our heart just because we think it’s an important thing to do.”

Unprecedented competition

Any other year, Nathan Pasha would likely be the tournament’s top-seeded player. Instead, Pasha, the 385th-ranked doubles player in the world according to the Association of Tennis Professionals, is seeded fifth.

The third seed, Collin Altamirano, played in the main draw of the U.S. Open in 2013, and Malcolm Harrison, a semifinalist in 2014, needs to get through the preliminary rounds before advancing to the main draw Wednesday.

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Pacific Northwest Open to offer equal payout to men’s and women’s winners for first time."