Russian Ex-pro Bluntly Dismisses Serena Williams and Billie Jean King’s Equal Pay Advocacy – ‘Male Tennis Players Work 3x Harder’

“I do believe that women deserve the same pay,” were Serena Williams’ words as she pushed for equal prize money for tennis stars irrespective of gender. However, the fight for equal pay dates back to the years when Billie Jean King was a force to reckon with in her playing days. The American legend was at the forefront of the fight and her efforts bore fruit when the US Open became the first major tournament to announce equal pay for men and women in 1973.

While most of the tournaments have adopted it, Russian ex-pro star Nikolay Davydenko strongly vouched against equal pay. At the Grand Slam level, men play best-of-five sets whereas women play best-of-three sets. This requires the male players to grind more on the court and spend more hours on the court. This fact was highlighted by the Russian star while opposing equal pay for men and women.

During an interview, Davydenko revealed, “In the 250, 500, 1000 category tournaments, it’s possible. But when you talk about Grand Slam tournaments… You don’t play five-set matches. Serena Williams won the Grand Slams, losing only 10 games in the tournament. She won 6–0, 6–1, 6–2 without even breaking a sweat or feeling stressed. And men lose 10 games in the first match alone, you have to fight.”

Furthermore, Davydenko added, “Sometimes you play a five-setter in the first round and then you lose. Male tennis players work three times harder than female tennis players, especially in Grand Slam tournaments. So it’s unfair to pay them equally.” Meanwhile, Billie Jean King gave her all to ensure there was no discrimination between men and women when it came to prize money. She even famously defeated Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes, which was a turning point in her fight.

While tennis is one of the sports to adopt an equal-pay policy irrespective of gender, many other sports are yet to follow suit. However, Williams advised patience in this matter.

Serena Williams hopes that things will improve gradually

The fight for equal pay in sports has been going on for years. However, there are still some spots left to adopt this policy. During many interviews, Williams has been asked about equality in sports when it comes to prize money. In one such conversation, Williams revealed that such changes take time to be implemented, noting, “You just can’t expect things to change overnight. I like that people are starting to recognize that women do deserve equal pay and they deserve the same that a male gets.”

Amid this fight, Williams credited the small initiatives taken to spread awareness about this issue. Some brands have decided to include an equal number of male and female athletes in their ads, which impressed Serena Williams. “I applaud them for elevating female athletes and amplifying inclusivity to the world’s biggest stage… the Super Bowl. It doesn’t really get any bigger than that,” Williams stated.

Other than Williams and Billie Jean King, other players like Venus Williams have also stood up against the gender-based pay gap. With time, more and more tournaments are eradicating this and offering equal prize money for male and female players.