The recent sexism row around the prize money awarded to male and female tennis players has come to a head with the resignation of Indian Wells tournament chief Raymond Moore today, BBC Sport reports.
Moore had stated that women’s tennis “rides on the coat-tails” of the men” and said female players “should get down on their knees” in thanks to male counterparts such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
He later apologised for his remarks, which were derided by professionals such a Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams.
Men’s number one Novak Djokovic had said that Moore’s comments were not ‘politically correct’, but maintained men should be paid more as their matches are watched by more spectators.
Serena Williams made the point that the remarks by Wells were offensive not only to female athletes, but also to women across the board.
“You know, there’s only one way to interpret that,get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man … We, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn’t have to drop to our knees at any point.”
