“I Spoke to Some of the Male Players Who Were Unhappy” – Andy Murray

Former World No.1 Andy Murray has long-been unwavering advocate about gender equality in tennis. There have been many talks about the merger of ATP and WTA initiated by Roger Federer. While Murray supports the initiative, he feels a lot of obstruction to merge the two associations.

Murray feels there are many discrepancies in tennis as he revealed that he has encountered numerous gender-biased male tennis players who do not support equal prize money in tennis. Hence, the alignment of the ATP and WTA is difficult in offering equal prize money to the players.

The Grand Slam tournaments along with some selected events only provide equal prize money to the ATP and WTA players. However, the majority of tournaments offer different prize money for the two sexes.

“It’s important not to see this merger through a man’s eyes” – Andy Murray

Murray divulged that he has come across many sexist players who are against the notion of equal prize money. Hence, he explained the key decision-makers of the sport should include both men and women in order to have fewer discrepancies in the sport.

“I have had sometimes conversations in the past where there have been prize money increases in the sport. Let’s say the first-round loser’s cheque has gone for the men from $8,000 to $10,000,” Murray said in an interview with Billie Jean King at CNN.

“And the women’s went from $6,000 to $10,000. I spoke to some of the male players who were unhappy that the prize money was equal. I said: ‘Well, would you rather there was no increase at all?’ And they said to me: ‘Yeah.’ That is some of the mentality you are working within these discussions,” he added.

The Scot further explicated that someone would rather make less money so they are not on an equal footing with some of the female players. Hence, there might be some challenges to merge the two governing bodies.

“It’s really important in these negotiations that when it comes to key decision-makers all of them are men. And when these discussions happen it’s important not to see this merger through a man’s eyes. To bring more women into the decision-making positions so everybody’s voice gets heard and everybody gets protected. If that happens, we have a huge potential as a sport,” he concluded.

Read More: Andy Murray Raises Huge Amount For ATP’s Player Relief Fund and Healthcare Service

Solidarity is crucial during times of crisis. Hence, we hope the tennis fraternity unities and find a way through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.