World No.1 Novak Djokovic has modified his earlier comments regarding his personal belief about equal pay between men and women on the tour.
The world No.1 triggered controversy on Sunday when he suggested that men should get paid more money than women because they have ‘much more spectators’. The words from the Serbian has sparked a debate in the tennis world about equal pay. Since 2007 men and women received the same prize money at all Grand Slam tournaments.
Djokovic’s comments about equal pay came shortly after the former CEO of the BNP Paribas Open, Raymond Moore, caused outrage by making a series of derogatory comments about the WTA Tour. Moore has been harshly criticized by numerous figures, including world No.1 Serena Williams, prompting his resignation on Monday.
The words from the 10-time Grand Slam champion is nowhere near to the appalling ones spoken by Moore, however, they still made headlines around the world. On Monday evening Djokovic took to social media to clarify his comments. In a lengthy statement, Djokovic said that he spoke about the matter because he wants a ‘fairer and better distribution of funds across the board’ for both men and women. He also talked about his love for the sport and its future.
Posted by Novak Djokovic on Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Meanwhile, world No.2 Andy Murray weighed in on the debate on equal prize money. Murray is a strong believer in women’s rights. In 2015 he wrote a column for French website L’equipe. In the column he talked about the appointment of Amelie Mauresmo as his coach and ended the article by classifying himself as a feminist.
“Have I become a feminist? Well, if being a feminist is about fighting so that a woman is treated like a man then yes, I suppose I have.” He wrote in 2015.
Murray’s support for women in the sport has earned him praise from numerous officials around the world. For these reasons, it was inevitable that the Brit wouldn’t see eye-to-eye with Djokovic’s Sunday comments.
‘I have been playing since the age of two and it would be shocking to say my son would deserve more than my daughter”. He told British media.
‘Novak is entitled to his opinion, but if he has a daughter — I think he has a son right now — he should talk to her and tell her how his son deserves more money because he is a boy.
‘It all boils down to that. I would never put a sex against another sex. It’s unfair. We’ve had so many great women champions and players who have brought such great vision to the sport. There have been great men players too but women’s tennis is the biggest sport for women — period.”
The comments made by Murray were made shortly before Djokovic released his statement to clarify his earlier remarks.
Tennis has a strong history of equal pay compared to other sports. In 1973 the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to pay equal prize money, almost 30 years before any other major tournament. The Australian Open was the next Grand Slam to do so in 2001, followed by the French Open (2006) and Wimbledon (2007).
Graph showing the earnings for top 10 tennis players in 2015
Green Line – Men
Red Line – Women
