It's long been a sticking point with me. Women want to make as much as men in their chosen profession. What proper thinking human being can argue with that? But, let's not fool ourselves in considering that this is an issue of fairness.

In my opinion, women should certainly earn as much as men do in any endeavor. Women lawyers should earn as much as their male counterparts if  the woman happens to be as good as the man in a courtroom. A female construction worker should make as much as a male worker, as long as she can accomplish the same tasks, physically.

I am of the opinion that women tend to be a bit smarter than men, generally. So, in the technical field, all things being equal, women should earn AT LEAST as much as men, if not more. In tennis, the trend continues. Although it would appear that we are calling for equality on the tennis court, are we really?

'The point is that the women’s game is large and in charge'


In no way do men work harder than women at their sport. In fact, the women’s game has become very interesting in that now they are hitting the ball huge! I have become a fan of women’s tennis in the last few years because it is fast and strong thanks to the Williams sisters, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Mary Pierce, and others. The point is that the women’s game is large and in charge.

I believe that women should be paid as much as men with one caveat - women need to play as much as men.

No more three-setters. From now on, the women’s tour should have as many tournaments and the ladies should play as many sets as the men, and certainly five sets in the majors. That's what it will take for me to get on board with equalising the payouts for the ladies. When that happens, we will have real equality.

There is another matter concerning this issue, sports, as anything else on television, is a product. Acknowledging this as a fact can help to put this in perspective. If one product has a smaller audience than another, that product will command less in advertising revenue. Take a look at the WNBA. Are any of these women less athletic than their male counterparts? Certainly not! But it is true that the TV audience is nowhere near that of the NBA. No disrespect to the WNBA, but if not as many people are watching, not as many dollars are available to the leagues. This will naturally translate to less money for the players.

This is how the market works and is no different in tennis as it is in basketball.