Reanne Evans, the 29-year-old 10-times women’s world champion, has criticised World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn’s comments on the women’s game, calling the pay disparity “frustrating”.

Evans, whose attempt to become the first woman to reach the World Snooker Championships ended at the first hurdle in Sheffield with a 10-8 first qualifying round defeat to Ken Doherty, was responding to Hearn’s remarks about the women’s game.

Hearn told the BBC: “If the women’s game is serious, they have to grow themselves. They have to be commercially viable. You can’t look for handouts. For our tour, there are no barriers to entry, the only condition is ability.”

Evans responded that the women’s game needed more investment in order to grow, saying a tournament high-break prize in the men’s game is equivalent to her career earnings.

“Barry says it is equal opportunity but it is not,” she said. “We need to attract more, improve the game and build our own ladies’ tour up, then maybe – in a couple of years – give the top four ranked players places in invitational events or on the tour.

“At the moment ladies don’t want to be pushed into the deep end. But we do need to build our own tour up; I think that’s the most encouraging part for ladies’ snooker.”

Evans said the pay divide in the sport offered female players little incentive, with Mark Selby winning £300,000 for his world championship last year, while she won £1,500.

“I have been ladies’ champion for 10 years, I’m still struggling to earn any money at all.”