Novak Djokovic mentioned that male tennis players should be paid more as compared to their female counterparts. It did not go well with a lot of tennis players and put him into controversy.
Novak Djokovic, the Serbian Tennis Player who is considered one of the greatest tennis players, is the current World No. 1. He has 24 Grand Slam Titles and many other records to his name.
Back in 2016, he was asked about the pay gap and he said that the ATP players should fight for better pay as the men’s tour attracts more spectators and so should be awarded more. This led to a controversy and backlash. Serena Williams who is always known to be very vocal also responded by saying that if he wants his son to be paid more than his daughters. She said:
“If I have a daughter who plays tennis and also have a son who plays tennis, I wouldn’t say that my son deserves more because he is a man. If they both started at three years old I would say they both deserve the same amount of money.”
Following this backlash, Djokovic wrote a Facebook post to apologize for his comments. He clarified the reason for his comments. He has always had huge respect for his female colleagues. He did not mean that there should be a pay gap. He was in favor of both genders making equal money. He believed that since all players work hard they should be awarded for their effort.
Since then he has been supportive of the equal pay issue. Not only this he founded the Professional Tennis Players Association(PTPA) with Vasek Pospicil which aims to give players a better platform for their have their voice in the decision-making process. PTPA also aims at better pay distribution for the players.
Though Djokovic was not right in commenting about the pay gap, his initiatives and support are a great step toward a better future for tennis.
Also Read: The declining state of WTA is a matter of big concern
