Devil’s Advocate: Serving you a cocktail of wit, humour & sarcasm
The gender wage gap is not a myth. It is real. Consider the prize monies awarded to male and female single title winners of the grand slam tennis tournaments, in which the men get paid less than women!
This needs some unpacking to explain the anomaly. The four grand slam tournaments i.e The Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open all award the same prize monies to the winners of single men’s and women’s titles, which perfectly ticks the gender equality box.
So, where is the gap? To win the same prize money, the men must play five-set matches whereas women only play three sets!! This flies in the face of the chant of gender wage gap warriors “Same work, same pay.” Typically, the men’s matches end up in five set finishes whereas the women’s match is usually decided in the first two sets. No need for the women to play all three sets! In fact, the women’s single title winner has so much time and energy to spare that she goes on to play women’s double and mixed doubles too, making even more money!
The men’s single title winner spends at least more than double the time spent by women’s single title winner, considering all matches played by them in the tournament, to earn the same prize money, effectively reducing the men’s single title winner’s income by more than half!
The longest grand slam men’s final match ever was 5 hours & 53 minutes between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open men’s final. The men’s Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships holds the record for the longest tennis match ever. It lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes. The shortest women’s grand slam final match record is 23 minutes between Suzanne Lenglen & Molla Mallory!
In the just-concluded Australian Open 2024, the women’s final match lasted only 70 minutes and was completed in just two sets (6-3, 6-2), not enough time available for the spectators to finish eating a bag of popcorn, while watching the match. On the other hand, the men’s final match between Daniil Medvedev & Jannik Sinner, went on for the full 5 sets (3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3) for excruciating 3 hours & 44 minutes!! Paisa vasool!
In the case of men, it is “More than double the work, same pay.” Borrowing from John McEnroe’s famous outburst; “You can’t be serious, man!”. Gender equality?
I decided to take this matter to Xena, my acquaintance, who is a born feminist and a gender equality activist, for her opinion. When she heard me out, she simply rolled her eyes and said, “This is because of good old patriarchy. The organisers of the grand slam tennis tournaments, who are mostly men, think that women are weak and that they do not have the strength and stamina to last the distance as men do. This is discriminatory, demeaning and insulting to women to treat them like snowflakes. The modern women tennis players are athletic and are as muscular as the men are. They can complete five set matches quite easily. I will campaign against this discrimination against women and get them to play five sets.”
I calmed her down. “Look Xena. No women tennis player is currently complaining about not having to play five sets. “Less work, same money” is a good deal. This is one discrimination which women will happily endure. In 1994, when Australian Open tried to introduce the five-set matches for women, the women players, under the leadership of Steffi Graf, knocked back the proposal”.
Xena retorted. “In that case, I will campaign for men to play three sets instead of five. Why do men play five sets other than to show off their toxic masculinity? They just want to display their brute strength with their strong serves and closely contested matches that drags on for hours. Who do they think are? Modern day gladiators? Who has the time to sit through 5 hours of aggressive tennis? Why can’t they feminise their play so that gender equality can be achieved in the sport instead of being so narcissistic about themselves?”
Xena challenged, “We feminists raise an outcry at the slightest injustice to women. Why can’t the men do the same, if they really wish to pursue this gripe? I’m sure they run the risk of physical injuries which will end their careers sooner because of playing so hard and long.” This was the first time I had heard Xena show some compassion toward men! Nick Kyrgios withdrew from 2024 Australian Open due to his sport injuries.
I replied, “A few male players have indeed raised this issue, but they have all been shut down and labelled as sexist & misogynistic male chauvinists who are against women empowerment and gender equality.”
Xena raged on. “In this age of gender equality, why are men and women still playing in separate camps? Women should face off & compete directly against men in all sports. What a man does, a woman can do better. The “Naari Shakti” is roaring and rearing to go.”
Before she could launch herself into this campaign, I reminded Xena about the Williams sisters’ challenge. Serena Williams, the greatest women’s tennis player ever had challenged that no man out of the top two hundred rankings could defeat her & her sister. Then World No. 203, Karsten Braasch accepted the challenge and beat Serena Williams (6-1) and Venus Williams (6-2) in an exhibition match.
Serena Williams, in the David Letterman’s TV show had said, “Andy Murray, he has been joking about myself and him playing a match. I’m like, ‘Andy, seriously, are you kidding me?’ For me, men’s tennis, and women’s tennis are completely, almost, two separate sports. If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0, 6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes. No, it’s true. It’s a completely different sport. The men are a lot faster, and they serve harder, they hit harder, it’s just a different game. I love to play women’s tennis. I only want to play girls, because I don’t want to be embarrassed. So, Andy, stop it. I’m not going to let you kill me.”
In the world of grand slam tennis, it is not all “deuce.”
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
Support independent community journalism. Support The Indian Sun.
Follow The Indian Sun on X | Instagram | Facebook
Author Bhushan Salunke humorously challenges the gender wage gap in #tennis, pointing out the disparity in match lengths between men & women. A witty exploration of equality on the court. 🎾😂🚺🚹 #TheIndianSun #GenderWageGaphttps://t.co/dINi4XsHxi
— The Indian Sun (@The_Indian_Sun) February 3, 2024
Donate To The Indian Sun
Dear Reader,The Indian Sun is an independent organisation committed to community journalism. We have, through the years, been able to reach a wide audience especially with the growth of social media, where we also have a strong presence. With platforms such as YouTube videos, we have been able to engage in different forms of storytelling. However, the past few years, like many media organisations around the world, it has not been an easy path. We have a greater challenge. We believe community journalism is very important for a multicultural country like Australia. We’re not able to do everything, but we aim for some of the most interesting stories and journalism of quality. We call upon readers like you to support us and make any contribution. Do make a DONATION NOW so we can continue with the volume and quality journalism that we are able to practice.
Thank you for your support.
Best wishes,
Team The Indian Sun
