Two years ago the team at ENS wrote this. In the spirit of Throwback Thursday and given the topic is still relevant as ever, here it is again…
Regardless of how good matches are, the gender equality debate in tennis still rears its head every Grand Slam, nine years after men and women’s winnings were made equal. Physical comparisons are always cited: men play faster, they play for longer, they are better tennis players. But is that really relevant?
Prize money is a reward, not a salary, awarded for the dedication and commitment it takes to dominate in the toughest tournaments. Travel, coaching and equipment cost the same regardless of gender; hotel and plane tickets aren’t cheaper for women; there aren’t any ‘lady’ concessions for hiring a coach or joining a club.
Aside from the top 50 ranked players, riches are scarce. The number of women earning more than $500k a year is a third less than men and players climbing the rankings work just as hard all year round. From a sports marketing perspective women are just as valuable a commodity, perhaps even more so in the world of celebrity culture.
However, Grand Slams are the only tournament in which men play five sets and half the men’s first round matches are won in straight sets. All other Tour competitions throughout the season (for both genders) are battled over three sets. Perhaps the business end of the men’s tournament can be an exhibition of attrition and stamina that you wouldn’t see in women’s games but it’s also debatable whether this adds to the quality and entertainment of matches.
This begs the question then, why are people so offended by equal pay? The increased women’s pot did not take away from the men’s; in fact, both have increased dramatically since equal pay was introduced.
Some of the quotes attributed to critics of the financial parity have proved a sports public relations rally to equal any match. Gilles Simon, a previous top 10 player and now part of the ATP players council, was criticised for saying 'I believe men's tennis is more interesting than women's tennis. You have to be paid on that basis'. Maria Sharapova’s response that 'more people watch my matches than his' is perhaps a fitting end to the argument.
