Women's tennis and equal pay

[messyisthenewtidy]

Can I ask what everyone thinks re. the recent furore over women's equal prize money at Wimbledon?

Surely, the fairest solution would be to let women play 5 sets? Or am I missing something fundamental here?

unuat how are you going to differentiate the prizes in the Olympic games, where most of the people competing are professionals (some exceptions eg boxing)..?

What is your feeling about professional sports people in sports that do not garner much interest / television coverage etc. Should they even bother?

If it is reduced to a simple calculation of "whatever gets watched most gets the most money" what do you think that will do to sport? Do you think it will be a positive thing?

What do you think that will do to women's sports where already there is a strong pressure for women to wear skimpy clothes in order to attract coverage / viewers (see what nearly happened with Badminton, and the lingerie league).

Really do you think having cash as the bottom line, the motivator, the be all and end all in sport, will be good for sport?

Sardine- I would do the same for the olympics, i'd link the prize money for a particular sport to its financial contribution to the tv revenue/sponshorship.

If a person enjoys being a professional at a sport that earns very little money but they still earn enough to live off then I don't see the problem.

If thats what female sports stars want to do and so attract more money for themselves then again fine.

Professional Sport has become far more commercialised in recent years but this has generally been a good thing as standards and viewing figures have increased.

So at the Olympics you would have the prizes based on how many viewers the things attracts.

How are you going to work that out with a global audience, different sports are popular in different countries. Don't you think that countries will be fucked off if their national sport that they always gets first and second in gets medals made of wood because their country has a small population?

"If thats what female sports stars want to do and so attract more money for themselves then again fine."

It is not fine to make women play in short skirts or lingerie in order to attract more viewers. I cannot begin to tell you how wrong wrong wrong that is. So we tell our little girls "yes try hard at sports but you won't be successful unless you have a face and figure that mean men want to fuck you, and you are prepared to play in a thong".

Honestly what is wrong with you people.

People only think this is ok because it is sexist. And misogyny is so comfortable for most people.
Imagine there were disabled players at Wimbledon. They would definately bring in less viewing figures and would not be able to compete and win against the able bodied. But rightly there would be outcry if they were discriminated against!
Discrimination against women is so normalised people can't even see it.

So if you have a very attractive female player vs a less attractive female player

You can show that many men people are watching as they want to catch a glimpse of the attractive one's knickers.

Logically even if the less attractive one wins, the larger prize should go to the attractive one, as it was her who was garnering the viewers.

__

People should watch sport as they are interested in sport. As they do with male competitors.
The women's competitions could get increased inetrest through increased coverage.
Getting them to get their kit off is not the answer to anything.

Prize money is only there because of commercialism. If TV companies and spectators weren't prepared to pay to watch it, they wouldn't win any money.

People should watch sport as they are interested in sport. As they do with male competitors.The women's competitions could get increased inetrest through increased coverage.Getting them to get their kit off is not the answer to anything.

Agree with this. With one proviso - the interest in women's tennis will not increase until the strength in depth increases and we see fewer of theses 6:0 6:1 score lines. These sort of results are simply not watchable to genuine sports enthusiasts who like to see real competition.

It is ironic that in past years when the Williams sister were at their peak some people moaned (especially men) that Serena and Venus were 'butch', muscular and 'unfeminine' (probably because blokes knew that the Williams' could kick their arses to the kerb without any effort at all and we know how delicate the male ego can be . Yet it was the Williams' that brought in the 120+mph serve and genuine power into the game. No wilting violets they! And even the 'glamorous' players like Sharapova took a leaf from their book, put in the gym work and showed that women's tennis does not have to be patty cake patty cake (pity about the strangled cat shriek though...) Navratilova and Court in earlier years were a couple who showed the same attitude but were rather exceptional then.

Oh, and men and their knicker fetishes should be ignored as they are not sports fans anyway just voyeurs.

Why are male tennis players paid more than women?

Turn on your TV and watch the tie break going on as I type!

josephine a prize is a prize is a prize

Whether it is a certificate or a medal or money or a session with a top coach... A prize is a prize.

They should be docked money from their purse for all the ridiculous grunting and groaning it's like watching a porno or something. Not suitable for daytime tv at all Angry:

I don't understand why women don't complain that about equality in tennis
I am in favour of equality
If women want equality with men in tennis why stop them
let women have equality
let them all play in a single event
same rules, same prize money one competition
please take the tennis authorities to court!

There are actually a lot of people who would love to see women be more involved, and when girls are given the same opportunities as men, they can reach the same levels.

Also, they have to pay out for coaching, travel etc just as much as the men. They don't get a discount on any of the costs just because they're female. When they travel to tournaments, airlines and hotels don't have a cheaper rate for them. they have the same demands on them for training, sponsorship deals, travel etc.

Single event would be a rubbish idea. Of course men would win cos they have the unfair advantage of being born stronger. And they are to be paid more for that? Hardly fair....

Awesome match between zheng and serena at the moment. Just brilliant...

If the number of sets played is regarded as irrelevant in relation to the size of the purse, then there should be no problem with the men playing 3 sets and the women playing 5.

That would be very interesting - the men would be able to really go for it without holding back in case of a long haul, and the female players would be able to show their stuff over the long haul which as we know women are extremely good at.

Maybe they could draw a lot before the match starts to decide how many sets - 3, 5 or 7 and take it from there!

Really interesting idea.

As I understand it the female tennis players have campaigned to play 5 sets so it's hardly fair to deny them that yet berate them for not playing as long as men.

Personally I feel the women players have done a huge amount to raise the profile of tennis. As a kid I knew far more female players then male just cos they seemed more interesting and when the Williams sisters burst onto the scene it was so exciting. It's just odd that people don't see the benefit in encouraging and appreciating women's tennis.

"... and the female players would be able to show their stuff over the long haul which as we know women are extremely good at."

Do 'we'? I doubt it.

Instead of 6-0, 6-1 results we might get 6-0,6-1, 6-0 instead, oh, and another set of screaming like someone's going into labour every time their racket touches the ball. Increasing the length of play isn't going to magically compensate for depth of talent, or the decibel count. Still, it's one way of resolving the debate - 'For crying out loud, let them keep the money, just give them their 3 sets back and let the men play 5 sets!'.

How can we be having this debate in 2012?

Still, in Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive and have to have pieces of paper from a man authorising them to rent property ...

Come on, this 'debate' is tired and sad and old and retrograde. The prizes are awarded for winning a competition where there are different categories. Men are physically more powerful. Great. So what? The women's game is interesting and watchable. I was gripped by the Serena game today, as was DS.

If you think this issue has nothing to do with gender equality, just reflect upon the fact that working women earn on average 90% that of men. In the UK, and despite the equal pay act. It's going to be another decade at least before we get to parity. But we are getting there. We are and it will happen. We don't need shit like this to set us back 30 years.

Helxi you need to check out ultramarathon.

"Helxi you need to check out ultramarathon."

That will prove women play better tennis (than men?) at 3+ sets how, exactly?

You seem here to have a fight, helxi.

It is v boring of you.

The point is that women often perform better when extreme stamina is involved. hence my suggestion of 7 sets.

Female tennis players have said that they would like to play 5 sets. They are not allowed to.

And as for your comments about women looking and sounding like they are in porn films, or giving birth. Pathetic. Shows what you think women should be doing, quite frankly. Women like to play sport and they are competitive and surprise when they put a lot of effort in they do not always remain silent. Same as the men. Shocking. Not very ladylike

What women do at ultramarathons is a non-comparison; an ultramarathon is not a tennis match. Can you directly prove that increasing the duration of the matches to 7 sets will reduce the disparity in skill that often leads to dull one-sided results? That is the issue I and others have raised.

Porn? I've said nothing about female tennis players and porn, it seems you're projecting what you think occupies the thoughts of men. Your misandrist response is rather ironic, given your clumsy accusation of misogyny. 'Grunters' exist in both sexes, but if you can find me an equivalent shrill screamer to Victoria Azarenka, or God forbid, Sharapova, in the mens' games then I'll concede the point that it's a particularly annoying feature of the womens' game.

Boo hoo misandry, poor men, their lives are so bleak, they're held back by the system by those evil women who are pulling all the strings.

Yawnity fucking yawn.

Helxi seriously? You're complaining about the noise that women players make whilst playing tennis? You sound like one of those Victorian gentlemen banging on about how playing tennis is unladylike and those women will damage their reproductive organs and never find a husband!! That's the kind of crap I thought had died out. Seems not...

As for misandry, you've been insulting women left right and centre yet were the misandrists! You do know what it means right? It means a hatred of men and to be fair, we don't have a problem with most men, just ones like you.

The number of sets they play is an irrelevance. The women's championship is a totally different competition from the men's championships.

The women train and work just as hard as the men do for their relevant tours and prize money. Just because the women's game is restricted to 3 sets does not mean that they work any less hard. And there are many tournaments around the world where the men only play 3 sets as well.

Some people don't find the women's game as interesting as the men's game. Exactly the same holds true for women's football. It is your right to hold that opinion. But just because you find it less interesting has nothing to do with how much money should be available for prize money.