For the 28th time in her career Serena Williams is preparing for a singles grand slam final after her semifinal whitewash at Wimbledon.
The world No.1 could have been mistaken for playing in a first round match than a semifinal regarding the score at SW19 on Thursday afternoon. Williams required only 50 minutes on the court to crush Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0. Incredibly the 34-year-old won 96% of her first service points and fired 28 winners to seal the win.
Williams’ triumph is one of celebration, but also one that has triggered a long debate about pay in women’s tennis. Yesterday saw Roger Federer and Andy Murray survive a duo of five-set thrillers. Meanwhile, both Williams and her final opponent, Angelique Kerber, endured a combined total of just two hours and three minutes on the court. In is argued that such disparity between the men’s and women’s matches brings into question the reasoning for equal pay. An argument that has been tackled by the defending champion.
“I’ve been working at this (playing tennis) since I was three years old. Actually, maybe younger, because I have a picture where I’m in a stroller.” Williams said about her life in tennis.
“Basically, my whole life I’ve been doing this. I haven’t had a life. I don’t think I would deserve to be paid less because of my sex, or anyone else for that matter in any job.”
It seems incomprehensible to suggest that Williams should be paid less than her male counterparts when you look at her record. Leading into this year’s Wimbledon she has played 888 matches in her career, winning 86% of them. To put this figure into perspective, Novak Djokovic has a 83% winning rate in his 879 matches player on the tour (prior to Wimbledon).
Williams’ dominance on the tour is just as worthy as that of Federer and Djokovic. During her career, the 34-year-old has become a four-time Olympic gold medallist, 21-time grand slam champion and has spent over 300 weeks as world No.1. In her press conference at SW19, a member of the media asked Williams about being one of the greatest female athletes of all time. The question was an interesting one, but Williams pointed out that gender should not be defined in sporting success.
“I prefer the word ‘one of the greatest athletes of all time’,” she said.
That one sentence spoken reminds that world of how tough it still is for women to mix with the men in the sporting world, regardless of equal pay. One prominent issue that that players on the WTA Tour complain about is the sexualisation of them by the media. They are still known traditionally as those who wear short dresses and grunt a lot on the court. Fortunately, this stereotype is gradually changing.
“I don’t think that wearing a dress or wearing shorts would be different. If you asked me what I would choose to wear, I would choose a dress any day over shorts. I don’t think it makes a difference in whether it’s sexing them up.“ Williams said.
There is no denying that the men’s game is in a different league to the women’s. It is a case that has always occurred on the main stage of tennis since the early 1900s and before. Many people will express their disappointment with this point, but not many will deny it. Nevertheless, Williams’ achievement in her career is justification as to why women deserve the right to earn the same as the men.
Women’s tennis still face a uphill battle in the sporting world, but it is one that is being won with the help of players such as Williams.
