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G’day Roarers. Considering we’re all about strong sports opinion, we thought it was about time we captured this in a weekly debate on the hot topics.
Each week, two writers will go head-to-head, and will only have 250 words to get their point across.
It will be up to you, in the comments section, to decide the winner. That winner will stay on and take on a new challenger and new topic. That challenger can come from anyone, including any commenters who want to throw their hat in the ring.
To get the ball rolling Roar editors Benjamin Conkey and Joe Frost will take sides on this week’s topic:
Women’s tennis has been in the news this week due to some rather sexist comments from Indian Wells tournament director Raymond Moore.
While we won’t be discussing Wells’ stance, Novak Djokovic did subsequently bring up the male versus female pay argument in tennis before apologising.
Therefore, this week we’re debating the topic that refuses to go away.
PROFESSIONAL MALE TENNIS PLAYERS SHOULD BE PAID MORE THAN FEMALES
AGREE
Benjamin Conkey (Roar Editor): Before the feminists come at me, I believe in equality in all walks of life.
True equality exists when both male and females are paid the same for doing the same job.
How is it then that professional female tennis players can get the same prize money at Grand Slam events for doing the equivalent of part-time work?
It’s funny how we never hear Serena Williams or Victoria Azarenka talk about wanting to play five sets, and wanting that true equality. After all, why would you want to do more work for the same money? No one wants to do that. I don’t blame them, but then again we can’t blame male tennis players for voicing any level of annoyance that this situation exists.
In fact, I’d support the male players going on strike until their female counterparts are required to also play best of five sets.
It’s not like it’s never happened before. The old WTA Championship final used to be contested over five sets. For 14 years in fact. The last such occasion was 1998, when Martina Hingis beat Lindsay Davenport 7–5, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2.
Five sets of women’s tennis would be great to watch. As we’ve seen, the regular Men’s ATP Tour over the best-of-three sets produces different winners. Even Bernard Tomic has won three ATP titles. At Grand Slam level though, the fittest players over the longer journey stand out from the crowd.
Surely players on the WTA tour would be interested in knowing how they’d cope with the ultimate test, just like a runner stepping up from a half to a full marathon.
DISAGREE
Joe Frost (Roar Editor): Of the world’s ten best-paid female athletes in 2015, seven were tennis players. Rounding out the top ten was a driver, an ice skater, and a golfer.
And it’s worth noting Danica Patrick races men in motorsport, while now-retired skater Kim Yuna’s yearly earnings are boosted by her career as a pop star.
The fact is, of all female athletes, tennis players have the best chance of earning the big bucks. And that’s because women are shown the respect they deserve by the major tournaments.
Sure they may not play five-set matches, but if the length of the game is where you earn your coin, why do the Matildas struggle to even get business-class flights, let alone comparable pay to the Socceroos?
As for the argument only attractive women make good money, because they get the endorsement deals, watch the opening ceremony at the Rio Olympics and count the hundreds of gorgeous women marching. How many of them do you think you’ll see on a billboard in the following months?
The value of a person’s sweat, sacrifice and effort cannot ever truly be measured, but the best gauge we have is their financial reward. As it stands, tennis’ major tournaments are among the only sporting events in the world that say to women, “Your effort is worth the same as a man’s.”
Whether women’s sport would earn as much – and thus pay as much – as men’s sport if the prizepools were the same is no longer a chicken-and-egg debate. Tennis has settled it.
The question now is, why aren’t all women’s sports paid the same as men?
So what about it Roarers? Who wins your vote for best-made argument this week?
Let us know in the comments section below and they’ll be our carryover champ for next week. Also let us know if you want to take part, and we can make that happen.
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