At the BNP Paribas Masters Novak Djokovic became the first man in history to win the title five times, however, it was what he said following his triumph that has got the world talking.
The final day of the prestigious BNP Paribas Open was overshadowed by shocking comments made by the tournament CEO Raymond Moore. Moore spoke about how the men’s game has been the main driving force behind the development of tennis and said that women players ’should be on their knees thanking God that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer was born’. Moore has since apologized for the remarks and Serena Williams has publicly hit back.
Following the incident, Djokovic gave his opinion on the controversy during his media press conference and stated that women deserve respect in the game.
“Women deserve respect and admiration for what they are doing. Equal prize money was the main subject in the last seven, eight years”. He said.
It is without a doubt that Djokovic has high respect for woman considering it was a woman who uncovered his talent in tennis. Renowned tennis coach Jelena Gencic started her work with the world No.1 when he was six-years-old and introduced him to the game. The Serbian has acknowledged numerous times that he wouldn’t be where he is now if it wasn’t for Gencic.
Shortly after calling for respect for players on the WTA Tour, Djokovic argued that the men should get paid more based on current figures.
“Stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis matches. I think that is one of the… reasons why maybe we should get awarded more.” The world No.1 said.
“As long as it is like that and there is data and stats available and information… upon who attracts more attention, spectators, who sells more tickets and stuff like that, in relation to that it has to be fairly distributed.”
The comments will without a doubt infuriate the feminists in the women’s game, but Djokovic’s comments are more logical than sexist. In 2015 the WTA announced an impressive 25% increase in their viewership to 395 million cumulative viewers in 2015. The figure is a clear explanation as to why women’s tennis is one of the most popular women’s sports in the world, however, the figures trails behind that of the ATP. CEO of the ATP World Tour, Chris Kermode, announced the same year that the men’s game has 880 million dedicated TV viewers.
More justification for Djokovic’s comments can be demonstrated in social media. The ATP Tour currently has 828,182 more Facebook likes and 490,000 more Twitter followers than the WTA Tour. These figures do not suggest that there is an issue with the women’s game or that there is a lack of interest. What the figures do show is that in the era of the ‘big four’ the men’s game is the dominant force in the sport.
Last year Forbes published a list of the ten highest paid tennis players in the world. The figures consist how much players have earned from prize money and endorsements. Four women were in the top ten, but none of them reached the top three. Serena Williams was the highest woman at fourth, followed by Maria Sharapova (fifth), Caroline Wozniacki (eighth) and Ana Ivanovic (tenth). The combined earnings of the four women amounted to $77.2 million, which is only $11.2 million more that what Roger Federer made alone.
The ATP and WTA Tour is more than a sport, it is a functioning business. A key rule is business is that businesses should maintain their highest investment in the area that generates the biggest revenue. Looking at tennis as a business, it now seems obvious that men should get paid more than women. This isn’t because women are poor athletes, after all Serena Williams hasn’t won 21 Grand Slam titles by luck. It is just how the world works and Djokovic is right to point this out.
