By Full Protein Caldas,TennisUpToDate.com

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Former world number one Karolina Pliskova has stated that
she has no idea why women’s tennis players ‘complain’ about being paid less
than men’s tennis players. There has been a history of argument in favour and
against equality in prize money distribution in the sport.

Some people are against this policy, especially at Grand Slams, where men’s tennis players’ matches can go up to five sets, whereas women’s tennis matches can go up to just three sets. On top of that, the viewership
of men’s tennis has also superseded that of women’s tennis. Some of the biggest
names in the world of tennis have raised their concerns about such issues,
which include the likes of men’s former world number ones Novak Djokovic and Rafael

“Obviously it’s a very delicate situation,” said
Djokovic back in 2016. “Women deserve respect and admiration for what they
are doing. You know, equal prize money was the main subject of the tennis world
in the last seven, eight years. I have been through that process as well so I
understand how much power and energy WTA and all the advocates for equal prize
money have invested in order to reach that. I applaud them for that, I honestly
do. They fought for what they deserve and they got it. On the other hand I
think that our men’s tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more because the
stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis
matches. I think that’s one of the reasons why maybe we should get awarded
more. Women should fight for what they think they deserve and we should fight
for what we think we deserve.”

In 2018, legendary Nadal also shared a similar kind of view and argued that no one says anything when women models earn more than men, largely because they have a larger following. “It’s a comparison we shouldn’t
even make,” said Nadal back then. “Female models earn more than male models and
nobody says anything. Why? Because they have a larger following. In tennis too,
who gathers a larger audience earns more.”

On the contrary, there have been high-profile players who
believe that equal prize money for every player, regardless of their gender, is
the right way to go. One of those players was the former world number one, Britain’s Andy Murray. The 37-year-old also made those comments back in 2016
when he disagreed with Djokovic’s remarks. Murray was of the opinion that men’s tennis did not attract larger crowds back in the day because of the quality that it produced but it was largely down to the presence of four exceptional players, including himself, Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Interesting debate

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion and can have
different views. I think there should be equal pay, 100 per cent,” said Murray
back then. “The whole thing doesn’t stack up. It depends on the matches
day by day. One of the things Novak said was that if women are selling more
seats and tickets they should make more. “At a tournament like
this, for example, if Serena is playing on centre court and you have a men’s
match with Stakhovsky playing, people are coming to watch Serena. Men’s tennis
has been lucky over the last nine or 10 years with the players they’ve had and
the rivalries which have come out of that. That’s great but the whole of tennis
should capitalise on that, not just the men’s game. The crowds are coming to
watch the women as well.”

Most recently, women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka also raised her voice about the importance of equal pay in tennis. The
27-year-old appeared on the Jay Shetty Podcast after recently lifting the US
Open title for the second time in her career, after beating America’s Amanda
Anisimova in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6. She stated that
things have improved in recent times and that it makes her happy to see where things are headed.

“I’m trying not to focus on that because I just try
to represent women’s sport best way possible,” said Sabalenka. And of course,
we are all fighting for equal prize money and everything, but also at the end
of the day, it’s all about who brings the who brings the show, who brings
people into the sport. But I think like now the prize money is equal.
Everything is uh getting closer and closer between man and woman. So I of
course I love it and that’s what women athletes are fighting for.”

Now, former world number one Pliskova has criticised
women’s tennis players for complaining too much. She recently spoke to WeLoveTennisFrance
where she highlighted that it does not make sense for women players to complain
now when they are ‘better paid than ever”.

“I think the situation is the same, if not better,
than before,” said Pliskova. “I know there was a lot of travel in the past. There
was the Fed Cup three times a year, which doesn’t take as long now. Recently,
an older tennis player told me that after the US Open, they went straight to
the Davis Cup, which was played in five sets. And the girls? I feel like they
complain all the time, but I don’t understand why. They’re also better paid
than ever.”