It was not so long ago that the top female tennis players at Wimbledon had to bang their rackets for equal pay. Their male counterparts had been enjoying significantly higher earnings, no doubt a legacy of days when men rule. Recent reports coming out of the Wimbledon tournament has unearthed the same ancient chauvinistic thinking.
The Miami Herald has highlighted the story that defending Wimbledon champion Venus Williams has had to play on Court 2 eight times in the last five years. In that period she would have been the defending champion on two occasions. In stark contrast her male counterpart Roger Federer has played continuously on Court #1 since 2003.
Read the Miami Herald article which outlines the shoddy treatment meted out to top female players at lawn tennis most prestigious tournament.
The BU household rejected the feeble excuses by the Wimbledon management; we however have to highlight Roger Federer’s perspective on the matter. We would have thought that the gentlemanly thing for Federer to do would be to express sympathy and solidarity with his female counterparts. Instead this is what he had to say:
They can put us at Aorangi or Roehampton [practice courts] if they want to. I wouldn’t be disappointed if they put me on Court 2.” And then, in the same breath, he said: “I hope that day will not come for me that I will have to play on Court 2. I understand there’s a little bit of disappointment [for Williams], but I don’t think it has anything to do with disrespect.
A BU household member had a national tennis ranking a few years ago and we have remained avid fans, and they say chivalry is not dead.
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