Serena Williams upset by comments about women's tennis
Monday 21 March 2016 09:01, UK
Serena Williams has hit back at comments by Indian Wells tournament director Raymond Moore about women's tennis.
Moore, a former professional from South Africa, sparked the controversy when he claimed the likes of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were carrying the sport, while also making remarks about the attractiveness of female players.
"If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport," Moore said.
Williams was asked about the comments after her defeat by Victoria Azarenka in Sunday's final, when she said: "Obviously I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that.
"I don't think that is a very accurate statement. I think there is a lot of women out there who are very exciting to watch.
"I think there are a lot of men out there who are very exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate.
"Last year the women's final at the US Open sold out well before the men. I'm sorry, did Roger play in that final or Rafa or any man play in a final that was sold out before the men's final? I think not.
"There's only one way to interpret that. Get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man, which is not - we, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn't have to drop to our knees at any point."
Moore later apologised for his remarks in a statement, which read: "At my morning breakfast with the media, I made comments about the WTA that were in extremely poor taste and erroneous.
"I am truly sorry for those remarks, and apologize to all the players and WTA as a whole. We had a women's final today that reflects the strength of the players, especially Serena and Victoria, and the entire WTA. Again, I am truly sorry for my remarks."
And he was denounced by WTA chief executive Steve Simon, who said: "As the Tournament Director of one of the pre eminent events in professional tennis, the comments made today by Raymond Moore were extremely disappointing and alarming.
"The WTA stands on its own and was founded on the principles of equality and empowerment. I am proud of all the strong athletes on the WTA who put in hard work and sacrifice every single day.
"Tennis as a whole is enriched by the contributions and accomplishments of every player, both female and male."
Novak Djokovic says the women deserve the prize money they receive, but the world No 1 feels male players should fight for more as he agrees with Moore's comments that they attract more supporters.
"Obviously it's a very delicate situation. 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," he said.
"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."
