Tipsarevic: " Junior Boy will crush Serena Williams"

[djarvik]

I don't follow WTA on a daily basis, but I do follow and this is the first time I hear that they "want" to play 5 sets.

Last time they wanted something (equal pay) they made it very public and did heavy lobbying. I don't see the same passion about plying equal amount as well.

[Cro Morgan]

if the women wanted to play best of 5 they could get the change.

I don't think I could stomach 5 sets of women's tennis.

[Otlichno]

I don't follow WTA on a daily basis, but I do follow and this is the first time I hear that they "want" to play 5 sets.

Last time they wanted something (equal pay) they made it very public and did heavy lobbying. I don't see the same passion about plying equal amount as well.

I never said they "wanted" to play best of five, but that they were perfectly willing to if the ITF made it clear that the reason they were not getting equal pay was because of the difference in sets played.

Also, the "heavy lobbying" you mention stated the exact same thing I'm saying, that if the whole best of five vs best of three argument were to be used, nobody ever said the WTA players aren't willing to play best of five sets. Though I don't see how it could be described as "heavy lobbying" when it was only an open letter sent in by one player.

[djarvik]

Granted, you said willing even then, I have never heard they are "willing". In fact, I bet they are not. They are very much content with plays less and getting paid the same. Their lack of action towards true Equality illustrates that perfectly.

Also, the "heavy lobbying" you mention stated the exact same thing I'm saying, that if the whole best of five vs best of three argument were to be used, nobody ever said the WTA players aren't willing to play best of five sets. Though I don't see how it could be described as "heavy lobbying" when it was only an open letter sent in by one player.

I'd call it a "heavy lobbying" when King and Casals urged a boycott of the tour and creation of a separate tour.

Like I said, I have never heard or read about the "willingness" of WTA players play 5 set matches. I could be wrong though, can you point me towards a source?

[Otlichno]

What pushed the ITF to finally allowing both male and female tennis players to earn the same amount in Grand Slams was Venus's open letter.

"I feel so strongly that Wimbledon's stance devalues the principle of meritocracy and diminishes the years of hard work that women on the tour have put into becoming professional tennis players.
I believe that athletes – especially female athletes in the world's leading sport for women – should serve as role models. The message I like to convey to women and girls across the globe is that there is no glass ceiling. My fear is that Wimbledon is loudly and clearly sending the opposite message....

Wimbledon has argued that women's tennis is worth less for a variety of reasons; it says, for example, that because men play a best of five sets game they work harder for their prize money.

This argument just doesn’t make sense; first of all, women players would be happy to play five sets matches in grand slam tournaments....

Secondly, tennis is unique in the world of professional sports. No other sport has men and women competing for a grand slam championship on the same stage, at the same time. So in the eyes of the general public the men's and women's games have the same value.

Third, ... we enjoy huge and equal celebrity and are paid for the value we deliver to broadcasters and spectators, not the amount of time we spend on the stage. And, for the record, the ladies’ final at Wimbledon in 2005 lasted 45 minutes longer than the men's....

Wimbledon has justified treating women as second class because we do more for the tournament. The argument goes that the top women – who are more likely also to play doubles matches than their male peers – earn more than the top men if you count singles, doubles and mixed doubles prize money. So the more we support the tournament, the more unequally we should be treated! But doubles and mixed doubles are separate events from the singles competition. Is Wimbledon suggesting that, if the top women withdrew from the doubles events, that then we would deserve equal prize money in singles? And how then does the All England Club explain why the pot of women's doubles prize money is nearly £130,000 smaller than the men's doubles prize money?

I intend to keep doing everything I can until Billie Jean's original dream of equality is made real. It's a shame that the name of the greatest tournament in tennis, an event that should be a positive symbol for the sport, is tarnished."

[Corbon]

Like I said, I have never heard or read about the "willingness" of WTA players play 5 set matches. I could be wrong though, can you point me towards a source?

I know that Navratilova (yeah it's been a while) was a strong supporter of Best of 5 finals in Slams but it never materialized. It was eventually introduced in the WTA Championships for a few years. IIRC both Venus and Serena didn't mind playing Best of 5 finals either when both were still on top of their game but they were always among the fittest and strongest players. Nothing recently though.

[djarvik]

Williams sisters hardly represent the majorities of WTA interests.

Thanks for that letter BTW. I can disagree with many points in it, but bottom line remains unchanged. The "equality" is now shifted towards inequality. In terms tennis and prize money, WTA players get "same for less". They are happy to be equal with reward for lesser job, and "would not mind" is far from "should".

I wish some of them would come out and say: "hey, either change the rules to match man, cause we want to be equal, or take part of my prize money and donate it to any charity." This would commend a lot of respect with a lot of people, at least that is what I think.

[Corbon]

Williams sisters hardly represent the majorities of WTA interests.

Neither do Tipsarevic and Simon

It's really simple: Everyone wants more money for him/herself.

Edit: WTA players still earn less money from (most) Best of 3 tournaments so the argument "less work, same money" doesn't hold here. But if you go by ratings, things will be looking in favour of the ATP tour.

[djarvik]

Williams sisters hardly represent the majorities of WTA interests.

Neither do Tipsarevic and Simon

It's really simple: Everyone wants more money for him/herself.

Can't argue with you here.

So lets put it this way: they know they getting away with it, but since it is "more" not "less" they don't mind and won't speak up.

[djarvik]

Edit: WTA players still earn less money from (most) Best of 3 tournaments so the argument "less work, same money" doesn't hold here. But if you go by ratings, things will be looking in favour of the ATP tour.

I am talking about majors only. I am all for equality in any other events.U

[Corbon]

I just noticed something

Venus and Serena haven't played in Indian Wells since 2001 (since their rigged SF). What's their excuse for skipping a tournament that has become a Premier Mandatory Event since 2009?

[Otlichno]

I just noticed something

Venus and Serena haven't played in Indian Wells since 2001 (since their rigged SF). What's their excuse for skipping a tournament that has become a Premier Mandatory Event since 2009?

At the bolded text.

And here you go http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_s ... ls_Masters read up. There is your information.

Still, one tournament is still 100x better than what this Kim Clijsters person is doing. She hasn't played any clay tournament other than Roland Garros since 2009.

[Corbon]

Clijsters is going to retire after the USO so no one really cares anymore I guess. Let the WTA ban her in 2013

Thanks for the link though. I just searched among both of them individually.

[Lucian86]

You're missing the point in this discussion. It's not relevant at all how many sets women are playing; like any other job in this world you are being paid for your "marginal productivity"....in few words you are being paid for how much the others benefit from your work. A tennis player earns a lot of money because they're bringing money to the television, clients to the BNP Paribas, Nike, Adidas and so on. Why ? because they're popular and popularity bring money. Is that simple

If I'm not wrong, ATP is more popular than WTA so yeah, it's fair that the men should be paid more.
Why ATP is more popular....in part because of the tennis quality, it's true but as you all know already, not necessarily means that the most popular music or movies have also the highest quality...just put the girls playing shirtless on the court and you'll see how the audience will grow up.

The people who think that is unfair for female players to be paid less, ask yourself then if it's fair that the prize for winning a GS in tennis is1.000.000 $ and more and for winning the world judo championships they give you a nice big 5000$ check

[djarvik]

See Lucian86 what kind of discussions we have here?


Great points!