Tennis : Equal Pay for Unequal work?

[Cort Haus]

Wimbledon is coming under pressure to pay equal prize money to its male and female competitors, as the last major tournament, I gather, to do so.

I believe in equal pay for men and women for doing the same job, but as long as women only play three sets instead of the mens' five, what is being sought (and got elsewhere) is pro-rata higher that what the men are paid.

I'm all for equal pay for equal jobs, but demanding priviledge under the guise of seeking equality is wrong, imv.

Let the women play five set matches!

[Lorizael]

I think five set matches are too long. How often does a player down two sets come back and win the the next three? Just call it done.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Lorizael
I think five set matches are too long. How often does a player down two sets come back and win the the next three? Just call it done.

Five sets is what sets (!) the majors apart from the rest of the tour. It's what makes them them special, as well as the size & history of the venues.

I think you'll find that the long-suffering fans of Tim Henman can testify that it's very possible to blow a match from a strong lead.

[SlowwHand]

Don't use tennis and work in same sentence.

[Lorizael]

Dude, I get tired just watching a five set match. It most certainly is work to play one.

Re five set matches being special... does that mean women aren't special? Huh? Huh!

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Lorizael
I think five set matches are too long. How often does a player down two sets come back and win the the next three? Just call it done.

Didn't Nadal do it a few days ago?

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by reds4ever
Didn't Nadal do it a few days ago?

Uh. Uh. Exception that proves the rule. Yeah. That's it.

His other three matches in the tournament, btw, have all been won in straight sets.

[Kontiki]

Completely agree that women should play five sets too - no reason not to. They do that, by all means equalize the prize money.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by reds4ever


Didn't Nadal do it a few days ago?

He came back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 after taking the first. A good example of an ebb-and-flow five setter.

Possibly the best match in history was the 1980 Wimbledon final - a five-setter between Borg & McEnroe.

B Borg (Swe) bt J McEnroe (US) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/wimbledon_2003/history/2974618.stm

[reds4ever]

It not just a sets issue, the mens game is more popular with the spectators and has more strength in depth.

[alva]

Not to mention that the women have an easier run to the final to begin with.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by alva
Not to mention that the women have an easier run to the final to begin with.

I think "more strength in depth" covers that.....

[Lorizael]

While all of this may be true, I'd much rather watch Sharapova than, say, Federer.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Lorizael
While all of this may be true, I'd much rather watch Sharapova than, say, Federer.

While I agree with you, whats that got to do with tennis? Some misguided fools actually watch the game for the sport.....

[Lorizael]

No, I agree. I usually prefer men's matches to the women's. They run faster, hit harder, and grunt instead of shriek.