Tennis legends such as Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova have fought hard to eliminate sexism from the sport. Today, in 2016 it seems the sport has a long ways to go. Many tournament directors and ATP players still do not acknowledge women players as equal to the men.
During the women’s final, Indian Wells CEO Raymond Moore talked down on the WTA, spurring the day of sexism.
“When I come back in my next life I want to be someone in the WTA because they ride on the coattails of the men,” said Moore. “They don’t make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have.”
The first issue with this is that he is saying WTA players did not work hard to get where they were. He implies that his own life is more difficult than theirs’ by wishing to come back as a WTA player and be “lucky.”
It’s a whole new issue when he suggests that the only reason they get paid or have anything is because of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are doing a bulk of their job. He is completely ignoring what women such as the Williams sisters have contributed to the sport and the crowds they draw. Not to mention his cringeworthy “get down on my knees” statement.
Unfortunately, his remarks did not end there. He was asked about the superstars such as Serena and Sharapova and who could take over.
“I think the WTA have a handful–not just one or two–but they have a handful of very attractive prospects that can assume the mantle,” said Moore. “You know Muguruza, Genie Bouchard. They have a lot of very attractive players.”
Apart from how awkward this sounds for an older man trying young women’s players as eye-candy, he is missing the point. Women’s tennis is a sport. When they talk about competition, they refer to what is happening on court. When a CEO of a joint event looks at the future prospects of the game and cannot see anything past their looks, there is a major problem!
In summary, in the beginning he complains about how bad women’s tennis is but then states it has a future because of Muguruza and Bouchard’s looks. So the problem is not that none of them are as good as Roger and Rafa; truthfully the problem is people like him spreading sexism by labeling WTA players as objects of objectification rather than players and people.
Unfortunately, the insults did not stop there. World no. 1 Novak Djokovic also made his own remarks regarding the situation.
“I think the ATP World Tour should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators in the men’s tennis matches.”
Again, the top 10 on the WTA sells a lot easier than the average top 50 on the ATP would. It is the big names on both tours that sell tickets which in turn aid upcoming or lower ranked players.
Furthermore, if tickets should be based on popularity then Nadal and Federer would own a lot of the prize money he currently owns. After all, if they are carrying the sport, then Mr. Djokovic should be the one getting down on his knees and thanking for their births, as Raymond Moore would say.
As with Moore’s comments, Djokovic’s interview only got worse.
“It’s knowing what they have to go through with their bodies and their bodies are much different things that we don’t have to go through. You know, the hormones and different stuff, we don’t need to go into details. Ladies know what I’m talking about.”
Actually, everybody knows what you’re talking about.
Ignoring the fact that Djokovic clearly lacks a strong education in anatomy, he is suggesting that “hormones and different stuff” prevent women from living up to a standard on court that men can. Apparently aspects beyond their control are why they should not be paid as much as men.
In short, not Djokovic’s best moment. But unfortunately it is not the first time he has spoken against equal pay. Even more unfortunate is how he attempts to dumb down his statement by his promotion of “women power” and the fact that he’s married to a woman.
Overall, yesterday reminded us of how sexism is prevalent in sport. Serena Williams who fell in straight sets to Victoria Azarenka gave her own response to Moore’s remarks and was all class.
“We as women have come a long way. We shouldn’t have to drop to our knees at any point.”
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