At least two major tennis tournaments still pay women less than they pay men.. Wimbledon and the French Open. Maria Sharapova would like to see that change.
And she’s absolutely right. There’s no reason that the men should be paid more… I’ve heard the argument that they play a best of five sets, as opposed to the women’s three, but I’m not buying it. Since when do athletes (or anyone else, for that matter) get paid based on their effort? They don’t. There is no shortage of evidence for this point… for example, Vince Carter was paid very well in Toronto, where he just didn’t try. Most American League DH’s make more than your average 3rd-line NHL grinder who gets punched in the face three times a week. Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed made more than Rod Tidwell. It goes on and on. Effort, playing time, etc., have nothing to do with it.
I’m guessing at this (and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), but doesn’t women’s tennis draw higher ratings than men’s tennis? Maybe it’s different internationally, but I honestly don’t know one person who would make it a point to tune in to see any men’s match I could come up with (well, with the possible exception of Federer vs. Nadal on clay). But with the Williams sisters (when they decide to play), Sharapova, Hingis, Clijsters, Davenport, there are a lot of potentially intriguing women’s matches.
There’s no question that the men are better at tennis, but tennis is one of the rare sports where being better doesn’t necessarily make it better to watch. The women create more interest, the talent pool is deeper, and quite a few of them have great tits. And great tits deserve money.
I kid, I kid. Truly, I just don’t see any reason to continue giving men a bigger share of the prize money, because the women are doing more for the game. It’s an old-school, cave-man mentality that needs to be dropped. So stop being sexist, and pay these hoes.
mrmom61
I miss
I miss Serenas tits and ass. And Im not kidding. Pay those hoes.
May 11, 2006 at 10:38 pm
derek
they need to pay them because of those grunts they squeal out on every point…the men, thankfully, dont do that and, thus, they shouldnt be paid more.
May 11, 2006 at 11:03 pm
Jimbo Mercy
Serena Williams is a woman?! I can’t believe I jacked off to her.
May 11, 2006 at 11:33 pm
MNJ
What a classy bunch of commenters.
May 11, 2006 at 11:50 pm
unc_samurai
Obviously, they spend most of what would be prize money on that giant hubcap of a trophy.
May 12, 2006 at 7:01 am
the mighty mjd
I’m clearly setting a fine example…
May 12, 2006 at 8:01 am
frieda gene
Hey, as a straight chick, I watch men’s tennis wherever, whenever. And the men grunt, it’s just lower and sexier. But I still think women should be paid the same. And I agree that women’s tennis gets higher ratings. Must not be too many of us straight chicks out there.
May 12, 2006 at 9:28 am
Ahereeum
hmmm…I disagree. It is a free market system. If women can pull in the same advertising dollars and attendance they will get the coin. Since tennis is an international sport you can’t really legislate the pay or else America won’t get any talent since to pay men and women the same you would have to lower men’s purses. I don’t believe there is any conspiracy saying…”we got tons of money, lets pay those hoes less!” I just had to say the word hoes.
May 12, 2006 at 9:38 am
mjdReader
Pay should be a function of ratings. If men get higher ratings, they should get more dough. If women get higher ratings, they should get more dough.
As a straight man, I’d much rather watch women’s tennis then mens. I enjoy both the tennis skill and the sex appeal. I’m guessing the women’s game gets higher ratings. If so, Maria Sharapova should be asking for more money than Roger Federer.
May 12, 2006 at 9:44 am
Adrian
They don’t deserve the same money – Ahereeum is right, it is a free market system. Men’s tennis should get the most money because it’s the highest level of the sport. If the women deserve the same money because it’s discrimination, then so do the kids in junior Wimbledon, and the wheelchair dudes in wheelchair Wimbledon.
May 12, 2006 at 10:17 am
Ahereeum
I have been thinking more about this and thought of two questions: First, should the hoes in the WNBA make the same amount of money? And if so, who should pay it? Secondly, should mens tennis players make the same amount for modeling contracts? I guess thats three questions…my bad /shrug.
May 12, 2006 at 11:49 am
jon
Barely anyone watches women’s tennis plus they are horrible. All I did was play college tennis and I beat women in the top 40. SO there is no way they should earn even something close to what guys are getting. Should the best woman in WNBA (whoever that is) earn as much as Lebron or Kobe?
That was a stupid article man, sorry
May 12, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Dave P
Let me get this straight — it’s NOT sexist to pay equal money for less sets???
May 12, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Mark
Except for the grand slams and a couple of other tournaments, the men and women have completely different tours. So the free market decides how much each sex makes on their respective tours. But in events that have both sexes, I think they should make the same amount because they both seem to bring in the same amount of fans.
And yes, the men’s tour has been pretty dull lately, but I remember watching Steffi Graf cruise through tournaments without dropping a set. The women’s game is more exciting these days because there are 10-15 women who can win a grand slam. On the men’s side, if the surface isn’t clay, the rest of the field is praying Federer has a really bad day.
MJD, can you post more about tennis? Not only do I like the sport, but I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to read the word ho fifteen times today.
May 12, 2006 at 4:34 pm
the mighty mjd
Just for the record, I agree with the “free market” thing… if the men’s tour pulls in more money, then sure, they can pay more. I have no issue with that. How good either gender is at tennis has nothing to do with it at all. I just thought it seemed like there was more interest in women’s tennis, better ratings, and more advertising dollars… but as I said in the original post, I’m guessing on that.
May 12, 2006 at 6:58 pm
insomniac
I’m pretty sure jon didn’t even read the article, but just wanted to brag about beating up some girls on the court. Congrats.
May 13, 2006 at 5:14 am
Shabukwe
Don’t pay those hoes, like Jay Z says… money over bitches fellas, money over bitches…
May 13, 2006 at 8:00 am
Moonshine Mike
I think the money in ad revenue, etc is more skewed towards the women because of the fact they are young ladies who wear short skirts and run around on tv. also, they play better tennis.
men’s tennis is boring. The men are robots and the game sucks. at least with the women, you can spend some time doing camel toe shots.
yea, we’re all low class perverts. what’s the problem again?
May 13, 2006 at 8:38 am
Rhondda Nunes
ah, who care if you all are pervs if you’re funny?
I don’t watch either one, but I’d say let the free-market decide….whoever brings in the most benjamins$$$deserve the moolah.
Which is why the NBA pays more to the men than the women.
The more popular the WNBA gets, the more filthy lucre the girls will get.
May 13, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Dan McGowan
Jon, you said “Should the best woman in WNBA (whoever that is) earn as much as Lebron or Kobe?”
The fact that you don’t know who the best women’s player is is your answer right there. Women’s tennis players are just as known as the men and make just as much money for the game.
They should definitely be paid just as much as the men.
May 13, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Superman
“the possible exception of Federer vs. Nadal on clay”
Yes. And Nadal will own that!
May 14, 2006 at 9:40 am
CheeseheadPete
I’d rather watch a mens match than any match that “panface” Lindsey Davenport was in. Yechhh!!!
May 15, 2006 at 6:07 am
telly
who the fuck watches men’s tennis?
May 15, 2006 at 10:42 am
Mr Furious
That’s Russian for “read between the lines” [see photo]
May 15, 2006 at 10:51 am