why are women tennis players paid the same as men?

Question

The womens game is for sure interesting, but even though they draw the same crowds no feamle tennis player could beat any of the male players in the top 50. Could you imagine if federer played serena williams. To understand this you have to watch tennis live to understand the difference in the quality between the mens and womens game. On tv they adjust the pace that the players hit the ball so the viewers can see it better. Look at what happened to michelle wie. That proved why women golfers don't get paid the same.

whats your problem. i am not being sexist. whenever anyone asks a question regarding women the first accusation thrown is sexist. I also really like justine henin, infact she is one of my all time favourite tennis players, but the fact is if she played federer, nadal, djokovic, roddick, haas, nalbandian, blake, davydendo, gonzalez she wouldn't have a chence simply because there is such a gulf in power and speed.

Many people say you are paying for the same job but if someone is better than someone else than they are better at their job. In buisness if a woman was better than me at finances then she would be paid more. But in tennis i am pretty sure all the men in the top 50 would beat any woman player, and when i was at high school there weren't many girls better than me in athletics except for the olympians.

Answer 1

Because they are the one that sells more tickets.
Tennis fans love to watch either live or in their TV sets the women's players in action.
They are hot especially Sharapova, Hantuchova, Ivanovic, Mirsa & Chakvetadze.

Answer 2

First, what you see on TV is what you get. They don't alter anything when players are competing.

I agree that women should get equal pay, but it should be for equal play as well. Women should play 3 out of 5 sets just like men if they want to justify it.

Women's Tennis game is not all that deep in my opinion. Yes, you have great players like Justine Henin, the Williams Sisters, and others, but it's normally the top seeds you see in the finals than the other way around in women's tennis. In Men's Tennis, it's not such a big surprise for some unseeded or 50+ ranked player to win a grandslam title.

Also, physically, women do not have as much strength, speed, and endurance as men do, due to lack of massive muscular development during puberty. This is why men can strike/serve the ball harder and faster, and have enough stamina to last five sets. Because of this, not even Justine Henin would last against any male player ranked higher than 200. She's one of the greatest players, but the physical traits that are prevalent in womens/mens game really shows why men are generally better than women in tennis. She, and most other women would not be able to handle the tremendous pace of mens tennis.

I'm not a sexist, nor a misogynist, but we have to look at the facts: female players can't match up to male players physically, which is why 9/10 men would win a match between them. I do believe every pro tennis player should get equal pay, but for equal work. WTA should have increased the sets for women before increasing the pay because it doesn't seem egalitarian.

Answer 3

You are right about no woman being able to beat any man in the top 50, but what the hell are you talking "adjusting the pace on TV"? Televised tennis is televised in real time, they are not slowing down or speeding up anything to make it easier to watch. And as far as the women getting paid the same, Wimbeldon recently made the men's and women's purses equal. This is due to the fact that women's tennis has better compettition and more big names right now than the men do. Men's tennis has two big names at the top and then a bunch of nobodys. Women's tennis has a deeper field right now and their tournaments are simply more interesting. The size of their paychecks has nothing to do with who would win in a match between a man and a woman, it is about who will put more @sses in the stands and generate better TV ratings. Right now, women's tennis is winning that battle.

Answer 4

To anyone who plays a lot of tennis and knows the game well, the mens game is far superior to watch. I played college tennis and sometimes the womens game is really hard to watch. There was a time in college when I was upset about the fact that I could beat a woman in the top 10 in the world and she would go win $100,000 in a tournament while i was stuck playing college matches for free, but I eventually got over it. A guy who played #4 on my college team used to easily defeat a woman from his home town that was ranked top 30 in the world at the time. Justin Henin would have no chance against any of the current top 100 mens college players (from this past season, the #1 guy would be Isner who took Federer 4 sets at the open). It is not the pace of the serve, its the depth of groundstroke and consistency and power. Its not ripping womens tennis, its just a fact.

I used to make the arguement, why have a womens tour. Shouldn't there just be a tour and anybody should be able to play, but then there would never be women playing in the majors or anything. It is fair to split it up because it wouldn't be a competition and women deserve an outlet to display their own individual talent. They also deserve equal pay because for a while there, the women drew comparable ratings or better than the men. That has switched back over the last year, but these things go in cycles.

Renee: I hate to tell you this but Justin Henin would be lucky to win a game off any guy in the top 100. A couple years ago at the height of the Williams sisters dominance, they challenge a guy ranked #290 in the world before the Australian Open. Their result, neither could win more than a game in a set. And the guy was ranked #290. Also, Chris Evert, one of the all time greats, could never take a set off her husband John Evert, let alone more than two games in a set. This is when she was ranked # 1 and her husband was ranked #500 in the world. I understand you want things to be even between the sexes, but you do not know enough about tennis and the players to comment on these issues. And please do not bring up the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs match. Billie Jean was the #1 womens player at the height of her career, Bobby Riggs was 57. Great victory. Thats like Michelle Wie beating Arnold Palmer today.

LIVE YOUR LIFE: Same thing I said to Renee. I appreciate that you have watched top men and women play, but I have played with top men and women and it is really no comparison. You did mention the reason that is the case, it is genetic and thats all that needs to be said. Is Justine great in womens tennis, yes. Would she even be ranked in the top 500 in the world in the mens game, no. Also, no mens players serve and volley anymore. I can name about 4-5. Men play from the baseline and have long rallies, now the women try to play like the men by trying to blast every shot and end up with far more errors than winners at the end of the match.

Someone else made the argument that Venus and Serena pull in major dollars and sponsors by playing tournaments. That doesn't really happen anymore because they are unreliable participants. They only play majors, and are well known for pulling out of tournaments at the last minute upsetting sponsors and tournament directors in the process.

By the way, the ratings for the last two US Open Finals:
2006-mens rating 5.1, womens 3.2
2007-mens rating 4.2, womens 2.6.
This even though the men are against nfl football, the women have a primetime slot. Those are not even close folks.

And the questioner is right, tennis does look slower on tv but that is only because of the camera angle is up higher from the court. I wish they had a court level camera because you wouldn't believe how fast the balls are actually being hit during a match.

Anyways, long post I know, and many will just read my comments as sexist, but I have backed up all my claims with facts. Those saying so and so is better than other top 50 men is just saying it because they think it. Women work just as hard as men, but in this sport, they just are never going to be as good. They have a right to earn a living with equal pay on the tour because its the right thing to do. But please, do not suggest anyone on that WTA tour could beat any decent male player.

Answer 5

Okay...so you are ALL MAN..

Thanks for reminding us....

Now...

YOU need to understand and realize that women are not nor are they supposed to be as strong as men....and being that you are intelligent, I KNOW that you know it is about more than just physical prowess....to say that a woman should get paid less because they have breasts and a vagina is the same as saying that a man should have no part in their child's life because they did not go through the pain of having the child.

We ARE different...but we both work hard K?

...and should not be paid differently....

Also...

From a Marketing standpoint...the REAL question is not the gender, but WHO IS DRAWING THE CROWDS.....when you draw crowds...you draw money...and I KNOW Venus and Serena are pulling in some MAJOR dollars....

I hope you open your mind to this equality...it not, then just be an *** okay? It's a free country...you are entitled...

Answer 6

They get paid the same jerk because believe it or not, we work just as hard out there too. I hate that all you guys are so against women getting paid the same. You can't get off your high horse and accept that women are just as good as men. And by the way, Justine Henin would kill some guys in the top 50.

Answer 7

Uh...Its a little thing called equal pay for the same job...(Look it up on the ATP, USTA, or any other site to do with professional tennis, morons(Jeff S.))...They just decided this past year that the mens and womens champ at Wimbledon will get equal pay...and I hate to break it to you but women's tennis gets bigger ratings on TV than men's...You'd have to be either an idiot or gay not to figure out why...

Answer 8

THANK YOU RENEE!
haha okayy so first off even though there are a bunch of answers here that pretty much say what i think, this question is just so offensive to me that i feel it'd be unjust not to answer it. here are a few of my points:
#1--"no female tennis player could beat any of the male players in the top 50" umm have you ever heard of justine henin? belgian? 5'5"? might possibly be #1 right now? yeah, that justine. SHE IS FREAKING AMAZING. like you don't even know. i highly doubt you've seen her play in person. well, i have. and let me tell you that she could easily beat many of the guys in the top 50. and yes, i've seen some of them play too.
#2- and sentence that contains "serena williams" in it is just not a good way to start out. she is not #1. in fact, her AND her sister lost to #1. serena williams needs to lose some weight and start moving before she deserves to be respected again. my hat does go off to venus though, she was in top shape for the US Open at the beginning of this month. AND um federer happens to be #1 in the guys right now and perhaps the best the game has ever seen. is it really fair to compare him to other people?
#3- someone already said this but to reiterate it, THEY DON'T CHANGE THE PACE OF THE GAME ON TV. YOU SEE IT HOW IT IS. oh my gosh. pleeease get that concept.
#4- actually, the quality of the women's game is better because in most matches you get longer rallies than most of the men's matches. they like to serve and volley tons.
#5- what do you have against women? seriously. i'm a girl and i can beat all the guys on our high school team. no, that's not because they suck. some of the do but when you get in the top four they don't exactly suck. they're actually pretty good.
#6- this whole men vs. women and how much harder the men work and blah BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH is crap. men have genetics on their side. they are taller first off so that means they have a better trajectory level on all shots. also, although i'm not quite sure of why this is, men in shape usually run faster than women in shape. they also have a higher endurance level. and you know what...they don't have female issues. and you know what i'm talking about. they don't have to deal with PMS or any of the crazy mood swings we deal with. men have the emotional range of a teaspoon. and that's ok. just don't judge us by that.

in conclusion, because i feel this deserves a conclusion, women work just as hard as men. if you're still stuck in the dark ages and think that women should stay home and cook and clean then you need to grow up and familiarize yourself with the world today. these women push their bodies farther than you could ever imagine. and you don't see the pro men complaining now do you? they know how hard the women work because they've experienced it themselves. obviously you haven't or else you'd respect them. not that i have but i understand how much work it takes to even get good at tennis. but to be amazing, that's just something completely different. you change for the sport and give up so much. so you really should show a little respect for the women out there because you sure as heck couldn't do it. not many of us could.

Answer 9

Its a good question. I don't know the answer but I do know that Tery C is a moron.

same job? wtf? the top women's players finish their first round matches in 51 minutes because of the continuing lack of depth in the women's game. they play two sets while the top men are battling four and five setters playing four times as long.

since when do 1 hour of work and 4 hours of work constitute equal work?

Answer 10

Billy Jean King would answer it better...