Sharapova pans male players for fighting women’s equality
melbourne — Five-times Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has offered a dim view of male players’ support for gender equality in tennis, saying Briton Andy Murray has been one of the few “exceptions” championing the cause.
A number of prominent women in the sport have paid tribute to Murray for taking a stand against sexism and pushing for equal prizemoney at tournaments after the Briton revealed on Friday that he might be forced to retire after the Australian Open due to a troublesome hip injury.
“Relatively speaking, I think they have been really tough, especially when it came to equality, as a general point,” Russian Sharapova told reporters on Monday, after thrashing British qualifier Harriet Dart 6-0 6-0 to reach the second round.
“I mean, sitting at a press conference in Wimbledon five, seven years ago, there was not a lot of warmth coming from that side or that perspective.
“That’s tough. I mean, I think there is definitely a few exceptions in the game, and I’m sure that (Murray’s) been one of them.
“But from an effort point of view and what, you know, he’s able to do for the sport and for British tennis in a sense is iconic.”
Women enjoy equal prizemoney at the Australian Open and the three other Grand Slams but are awarded less than men at other professional tournaments.
Novak Djokovic caused outrage among women players when he said in 2016 that men should “maybe” earn more because their matches drew more spectators. He later apologised and backtracked on the comments. —