Tennis: Players rep blasts tennis equal pay

French star Gilles Simon has reopened the debate.

LONDON: French star Gilles Simon, who has been elected on to the ATP Players Council along with Roger Federer, has reopened the debate over equal prize-money by claiming men’s tennis is far more attractive. Simon, the world number 13, criticised the move towards equality, where all the Grand Slams pay their champions the same amount despite men playing best-of-five sets and not three. “We often speak of equal prize money for both men and women, but I think it’s something that doesn’t work in sport,” said Simon. “Tennis is the only sport today where we have parity even though men’s tennis remains more attractive than women’s at this time. It’s unfair to reward women the same prize money.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2012.