Former Wimbledon champion, Marion Bartoli, recently made a statement regarding pay disparity in tennis. She mentioned Roger Federer being the highest-paid athlete in the world while World Number 150 cannot even make a living while tennis is shut amid coronavirus pandemic. 

On the same note, while talking about shoestring earnings of lower-ranked players, French player Gilles Simon hit out at Federer. He suggested that the unpaid status of lower-ranked player ‘doesn’t matter to him.’

Gilles Simon Criticizes Roger Federer

“I knew Roger would step up to the plate when there were discussions on the prize money of the Grand Slams a while ago,” Gilles Simon told L’Equipe.

“But the impression I have is that we lost him on the way, that the representation of the players does not matter to him. If there is a voice that carries, it is his.”

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In tennis, the prize money is not evenly distributed. If a player makes a deep run into a tournament he/she will have enough earnings. However, if they fail to qualify or are eliminated in the earlier rounds, they return home with a meager paycheck.

Consequently, lower-ranked players are underpaid and also don’t have the leverage of affluent sponsors.

Gilles Simon on Novak Djokovic

He further voiced his opinion regarding Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour debacle.

“I tell myself that Novak is trying to tackle complicated issues in the interest of the players in general. And I was bothered by this story of the Adria Tour because, by making a huge mistake, all this work fell apart.

“It’s a ‘media game’ that wants that. After the errors with Adria Tour, all his (Djokovic’s) work is reduced. It is easy to say: ‘Never listen to him again!’ now for the media.”

(NOTE: Quotes have been translated from French to English using Google)

Simon further pondered upon the media highlighting both pros and cons of Djokovic whereas, for Federer, only positives are discussed.

“I see Djokovic like any human being, with his strengths and flaws. But with Roger Federer, we only talk about his strengths. With Novak – only about his flaws.”

In 2020, Gilles Simon reached the semifinals at Marseille, and before that, he lost to Nick Kyrgios in the second round of Australian Open.