Johanna Konta Weighs in on Gender Pay Gap Issue

Former Brit No.1 Johanna Konta was recently present at the Oxford Union and spoke about certain topics including the gender pay gap. Presently ranked No.37 on the WTA Charts, Konta did not have the most fruitful 2018 campaign and managed compiling a win-loss record of 26-23 this season.

The Brit took to Twitter to thank the Oxford Union for having her, “A true honour to speak in a such a legendary setting. Thank you for having me!,” she tweeted.

My undying love for my sport has kept me pushing for success” Giving her views on the much controversial topic of gender pay gap in tennis, Konta assessed, “If a man and a woman do the same job, they should be paid the same.

Sport has historically been a masculine industry, and we should champion the women who are speaking out for change” She also believes in learning from every given situation, be it good or bad, “Learning that a bad game, a bad set, a bad match won’t stay with you forever takes away the potency of negative emotions and allows you to come back from dips”

The gender wage gap row has raged for a very long time and there have been many players expressing their views.

Raymond Moore, the tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., an equal prize money event, resigned in 2016 after saying that WTA players were “lucky” to be able to “ride on the coattails of the men.” His comments led to conversations at subsequent tournaments about the financial realities for men and women in tennis.

Several top female players pointed out that the discussion of equal pay often distorts the distinct advantage male players still have in annual compensation.

“The facts were not put on the table; the fact is we don’t earn equal prize money,” said Andrea Petkovic. “It’s not true. We only earn it in the Grand Slams and a few other tournaments, but men earn more than we do. I think it was discussed in the wrong manner, and that was very sad to see.”