Newly elected member of the ATP player's council Gilles Simon spoke out against the current pay equality at grand slam tournaments, according to LEXPRESS.fr. The 13th-ranked player in the world said, "I think that today men's tennis is really ahead compared to women's tennis. At Roland-Garros, the players again probably spent twice as long on the court as the women." He added: "We often speak about equality in salaries... I don't think it's something that works in sports! I think we are the only sport today where there exists a parity in terms of prize-money between men and women although it remains a spectacle, and right now men's tennis is more attractive than women's tennis." His declarations "immediately drew a reaction" from Marion Bartoli, who is the top ranked French woman on the WTA circuit. The ninth ranked Bartoli said: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion... But for my part I think we invest ourselves as much as the men. The physical demands and training that we have to accomplish on a daily basis, the investments on a personal level or mental level, are exactly the same as theirs" (LEXPRESS.FR, 6/27).
