World No. 1 Novak Djokovic said that "he did not mean to cause controversy by saying male players deserve more prize money than women," according to Piers Newbery of the BBC. He said he spoke out because the sport needed a "fairer and better distribution of funds across the board."
He added he cares "deeply" about tennis and that his remarks were "not the best articulation of my view."
Djokovic's remarks "were criticized by high-profile players Serena Williams and Andy Murray."
Williams, the women's No. 1, said the Serb was "entitled to his opinion" but wondered what he would say to his daughter if he had one. Williams:
"If I had two kids, I would never tell my son or my daughter that one deserves more because of their sex."
Murray "reiterated his long-held view there should be equal prize money in tennis and gave short shrift to Djokovic's notion that men's tennis is a bigger draw than the women's game." Murray:
"At the US Open last year, the tickets for Serena's matches were selling out much quicker than the men's matches" (BBC, 3/23). In London, Steve Brenner wrote Murray "strongly questioned the validity of Djokovic’s beliefs while aiming a hollow dig at the Ukrainian player Sergiy Stakhovsky, who opposes equal pay." The Scot, who has spoken in the past about the possibility of women playing five sets in grand slams, said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and can have different views. One of the things Novak said was that if women are selling more seats and tickets they should make more but at a tournament like this, for example, if Serena is playing on center court and you have a men’s match with Stakhovsky playing, people are coming to watch Serena. The crowds are coming to watch the women as well. The whole thing just doesn’t stack up -- it changes on a day-to‑day basis depending on the matches you get." Murray said, "I think there should be equal pay, 100 percent, at all combined events" (GUARDIAN, 3/22).
ON THE SPOT: The London TELEGRAPH reported Murray put Stakhovsky, who opposes equal pay, "on the spot." Stakhovsky took to Twitter to argue his case for men getting paid more, comparing the men's tour to the Ivy League and the women's tour to "any other university" and suggesting that someone in the latter should and will get paid more."
On the subject of Djokovic, Murray said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and can have different views." Djokovic has since apologized for the sexism row he sparked by saying "euphoria and adrenalin" had got the better of him following his victory last weekend in the BNP Paribas Final at Indian Wells in California.
He said, "I was asked to comment on a controversy that wasn’t of my making. Euphoria and adrenalin after the win on Sunday got the best of me" (
TELEGRAPH, 3/23).
