Tennis Equal Pay

In the world of tennis, women have always been seen as the less-dominant gender. Generally seen as the weaker side on the tennis tour. However, this argument has sparked many discussions recently- especially during Grand Slams. Players on tour have voiced their opinions on whether there should be equal pay and many have agreed and disagreed with that claim. In “Should Women Be Paid As Much As Men In Tennis?” a Vice Sports article, “5 Reasons Why Tennis Should Keep Paying Men and Women Equally” a TIME magazine article, “Equal Pay for Equal Play. What the Sport of Tennis Got Right” a PBS article, and “The Sexism in Tennis Needs To be Stopped” a Huffington Post article, all the articles convey that women and men’s tennis should continue to be
Prior to that, she threatened to organize a boycott of the tournament unless they offered equal pay. It states in “Equal pay for equal play. What the sport of tennis got right”, “When Billie Jean King won the Italian Open in 1970, her prize was $600. Her male counterpart, Ilie Nastase, was awarded $3,500, nearly six times that. Two years later, King and Nastase both won the U.S. Open. This time, he received $15,000 more than she did.” Nastase made $2,900 more than King that year in the Italian Open and in the US Open, he earned $15,000 more. These numbers show a significant difference in what the players are being paid and it was outrageously unfair. King had to make a bold statement to stand up for equal pay which is why the tennis world should continue to pay men and women equally. Likewise, men and women get paid the same in figure skating and gymnastics. In a TIME magazine article, “5 Reasons Why Tennis Should Keep Paying Men and Women Equally”, it also states, “The study also found that of 35 sports that offer prize money to champions, 25 offer the same amount to male and female victors, regardless of which gender attracts more viewers or sponsors.” 25 of 35 sports offer equal pay to both genders, that’s approximately 72%. Based on this statistic, it is clear that tennis players should get the same pay for both genders. If already 72% of sports are equal, then tennis should
However in “The Sexism in Tennis Needs to Stop”, a Huffingtonpost article, it states, “In 2015, the U.S. Open women’s tournament sold out more quickly than the men’s event and in 2013 and 2014, the women’s finals had higher ratings than the dudes.” The women’s side was reviewed as more entertaining and had higher ratings. Not only this but, the tickets also sold out faster. It’s truly about the quality of the performance and the women’s side earned better than the men’s. In addition, TIME magazine article, “5 Reasons Why Tennis Should Keep Paying Men and Women Equally”, also states, “In 2013, the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation found that female sports received 7% of coverage and 0.4% of the total value of commercial sponsorships.” This shows that women have to get second jobs in addition to their tennis to compensate for the money that they aren’t earning unlike the men. They must do extra in order to earn the amount the men’s side