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I thought they often, if not always, get paid the same?
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/about/history/prizemoney.html
I also meant that tennis tournaments usually have both men's and women's competitions, and TV coverage is pretty equal.
I agree on the number of sets (aren't there some competitions in which men only play two sets for the win, too?), that's definitely similar to the shorter women's race distances in cycling. Someone will probably make a similar argument that women couldn't possibly play more, until they do, when there probably wouldn't be any problem with it. :)
I personally find tennis a bit boring, but I definitely prefer shorter matches, except for the one tennis match I can remember really enjoying, between Michael Westphal and Tomas Smid in the 1980s. That was very long and still very thrilling.
Oliver Schick-
I think Sharapova and Serena Williams are/were on equitable cash, but they were outliers.
At least this is opening up a healthy debate. Do female tennis players want to play 3 set matches? Nicole Cooke was clear in her frustration at shorter track and road events for the women, it's all very 1930s isn't it? Protecting the frail female body from the rigours of endurance sport.
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The women get more money than the men, because they play for less time.
At least, that was the answer on a pub quiz question...
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I agree on the number of sets (aren't there some competitions in which men only play two sets for the win, too?)
It's only the 4 'Grand Slam' tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) that the men play best of 5. All of the other tournaments they play best of 3.
The major disparity is not in the tournaments that have men's and women's tennis going on (e.g. the Grand Slams and other major tournaments). It's that the men get paid much more for playing in a single-sex tournament than women do for playing in a tournament of the same size.
Djokovic has been vocal recently (last month some time) about how male players should get paid more regardless: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35859791
Jimmy_Fingers
hippy
Greenbank
Is that the same women's tennis where they don't play five sets or get paid as much as the men? I think they've got a ways to go in the equality stakes too.