Serena Williams Speaks Out Over Inequality in Tennis

'There are lots of women that are very exciting to watch'

21 March, 2018
Serena Williams Speaks Out Over Inequality in Tennis, Shuts Down Sexism like the Pro She is

​Serena Williams has stepped forward to slam Novak Djokovic and Indian Wells CEO Raymond Moore over their comments about men 'rightfully' being paid more than women in tennis.

In case you missed all this, Novak Djokovic surprised us all with his sexist opinions earlier this week when he sided with Raymond Moore over comments he made about women being paid less in tennis.

The CEO of tennis tournament Indian Wells announced that the Women's Tennis Association was a "lucky organisation" which "rides on the coattails" of the male players, before adding: "If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport. They really have."

And if that wasn't enough to make you scream WTF at your computer screen before trying to punch the keyboard, Djokovic went on to corroborate his comments and stick his sexist opinions in there too. 

Somehow, we think he might live to regret this. He commented: "I have been through that process as well so I understand how much power and energy WTA and all the advocates for equal prize money have invested in order to reach that. I applaud them for that, I honestly do. They fought for what they deserve and they got it."​

"On the other hand I think that our men's tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more [money] because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men's tennis matches.I think that's one of the reasons why maybe we should get awarded more."​

UNBELIEVABLE.

Which is where Serena Williams comes in, who fired back at the comments as "inaccurate" and "very much mistaken".

Speaking to ESPN, she said: 

"Obviously, I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that. I think Venus [Williams], myself, a number of players have been — if I could tell you every day how many people say they don't watch tennis unless they're watching myself or my sister, I couldn't even bring up that number. So I don't think that is a very accurate statement. I think there is a lot of women out there who are more … are very exciting to watch. I think there are a lot of men out there who are exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate."

She also went on to slam any claims that Moore's statement was taken out of context, adding:

"Well, if you read the transcript, you can only interpret it one way. I speak very good English. I'm sure he does too. You know, there's only one way to interpret that. Get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man, which is not — we, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn't have to drop to our knees at any point."​

SLAY, SERENA, SLAY.

Credit: Cosmopolitan
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