Novak Djokovic has added fuel to the sexism in tennis debate by saying he believes that men should be paid more prize money than women in response to the recent contravertial comments from the chief executive of India Wells, Raymond Moore, reports The Guardian.
In a moment of sheer stupidity and thoughtlessness Moore suggested female tennis “rides on the coattails” on the men before he said –
“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.”
It appears he forgot the 21 grand slam titles won by Serena Williams, compared to Federe’s 17, or Nadal’s 14 wins.
Although he later apologized and admitted his comments were in “poor taste and erroneous” the words could not be recanted, which prompted comment from Serbian Novak Djokovic on the matter.
Djokovic believes men should be awarded more money because their games attract more viewers.
“Obviously it’s a very delicate situation. Women deserve respect and admiration for what they are doing. You know, equal prize money was the main subject of the tennis world in the last seven, eight years. I have been through that process as well so I understand how much power and energy WTA and all the advocates for equal prize money have invested in order to reach that,” Djokovic said.
“I applaud them for that, I honestly do. They fought for what they deserve and they got it. On the other hand I think that our men’s tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis matches. I think that’s one of the reasons why maybe we should get awarded more. Women should fight for what they think they deserve and we should fight for what we think we deserve.”
Serena Willimas gave her take on the subject, with her usual grand slamming backhand.
“Last year the women’s final at the US Open sold out well before the men. I’m sorry, did Roger play in that final or Rafa or any man play in a final that was sold out before the men’s final? I think not. There’s only one way to interpret that. Get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man, which is not – we, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn’t have to drop to our knees at any point.”
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