Spain's Rafael Nadal speaks at a press conference following his victory in the men's singles final match against Russia's Daniil Medvedev on day fourteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 31, 2022. - -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by MARTIN KEEP/AFP via Getty Images)
Throwback to the time when Rafael Nadal caused a stir talking about the gender pay gap in Tennis
The legendary Rafael Nadal had spoken about the much-talked-about gender pay gap issue in 2019 during a press conference. He was asked about women earning less than men in tennis and the reason behind it. The former world No. 1 did not sit on the fence and answered the question boldly.
The Spaniard said that females earn more than males in the fashion industry. However, that is not mentioned as much. Nadal received a lot of criticism from fans on social media and he was also booed out of the building after his comments were regarded as sexist and narcissistic.
In an interview with lo Donna, an Italian magazine, Rafael Nadal elaborated on his thoughts regarding the gender pay gap in the tennis community:
“It’s a comparison we shouldn’t even make. Female models earn more than male models and nobody says anything. Why? Because they have a larger following. In tennis too, who gathers a larger audience earns more.”
The 2-time Wimbledon champion received a lot of hate comments after he shared his views on the gender pay gap. However, gradually, people have begun to find sense in what the star tennis player had said.
Few have also opined that Nadal spilled out the harsh truth instead of avoiding the controversial question that many would refrain from answering directly.
Still, there are people who want to see men and women receive equal pay cheques in all fields. However, only a few would be able to suggest the procedures required for that to happen. A lot of things are involved while determining whether males should get more money than females or not.
One of the primary factors is the viewership numbers garnered. If ESPN’s viewership numbers for this year’s Wimbledon are considered, the gentlemen’s final between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios garnered an average viewership of 2.2 million. The ladies’ final between Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur was witnessed by an average of 1.2 million viewers.
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