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Equal Pay, Unequal Play: The Visibility Politics of Women’s Tennis

Ons Jabeur kneels on grass court, head down, racket beside her. She's in a white shirt, black shorts, and sneakers, expressing emotion.
Ons Jabeur. (Image: Peter Menzel / Wikimedia Commons)

"It's a bit ironic, they don't show women's sport, they don't show women's tennis, and then they ask the question, 'yeah, but mostly they watch men'. Of course, they watch men more because you show men more."

Former World No. 2 Ons Jabeur expressed her disappointment in response to the comments made by French Tennis Federation (FTF) President Gilles Moretton. As reported by The Athletic, Moretton had justified the French Open not scheduling any night matches for Women by saying that the scheduling was made with the “spectator’s preferences” in mind. 


The French Open brought in night matches in 2021, and since they were introduced, only 4 out of the 52 matches have been from the women’s draw. This issue has been raised before, and nothing seems to have changed, as this year saw no night matches scheduled for women at all. 


The justifications for this have been injudicious. The French Open Tournament Director, Mauresmo, while rejecting accusations that women were being considered unworthy of these schedules said — one, that the Australian open conducts two night matches a day but it runs too late into the night and two, that men’s matches are 5 sets at the slams while women’s matches are only for three sets making it “too easy” and “too boring” especially since some matches tend to end 6-0, 6-0. 


These comments raise serious concerns. The French Open promotes the night matches to be the highlight of each day. On top of that, the night matches are scheduled for prime time television viewing. This brings up questions of visibility of women’s matches and the absence of not just equity but even equality. Careless comments like these by officials reek of systemic patriarchal thinking. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has long fought for equal rights for a long time, as underlined by WTA Chief Portia Archer’s comments that this is a systemic issue.


In a post on X, Ons Jabeur wrote an evocative piece highlighting the ignorance in coverage of women’s tennis while also pointing out how, while men are hailed as “dominant” and “powerful” on the court, women are said to be “too easy.” When women play great matches, they are often told that they play “like a man.” “As if strength, speed or aggression don’t belong in a women’s game,” Jabeur wrote. 


Finding a slot for the women’s matches clearly isn’t that difficult, given that both the Australian Open and US Open conduct two night sessions per day, one a men’s match and the other a women’s. Very often, men’s matches, though they can go until 5 sets, tend to end very early in just 3 sets, and nobody seems to have an issue with that. 


It is ironic how Tennis is embroiled in such a controversy while having the reputation of being the premier sport in promoting women and giving them equal recognition way before other sports took it upon themselves to pay heed to the women. Thanks to Billie Jean King and Venus Williams, Coco Gauff, the winner of Women’s singles at the French Open this year, received the prize money equal to that of Carlos Alcaraz, the Men’s singles winner. 


The long and arduous road to this began in 1972 when the legendary Billie Jean King won the US Open, earning $10,000. Her male counterpart, Rod Laver, received $25,000 for his win. King later announced that no women’s player would play at the US Open the next year if they didn’t receive equal prize money. She didn’t stop there; she set out to look for sponsors to back her up to fight for her cause. With a generous sponsor’s donation and King’s unwavering campaign, the US Open granted equal prize money to men and women in 1973, with the Australian Open following suit in 2001. 


Similarly, after winning at Wimbledon in 2005, Venus Williams called out the unfairness of the pay gap. Consequently, she appealed to the officials of the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) Grand Slam Board soon after, as well as to FTF, regarding the same issue with Roland Garros (French Open). In 2007, she penned an op-ed in The Times of London in which she wrote, “I intend to keep doing everything I can until Billie Jean’s original dream of equality is made real.” That same year, both Roland Garros and Wimbledon offered equal prize money. 


Equality in prize money at the Grand Slams was achieved after much championing. This, however, was only the beginning of the reforms in women’s tennis, as the night match debate has now brought the notions of equity and visibility to the forefront. 


Concurrently, a slew of players have spoken out about the lack of opportunities and visibility for female athletes. Women have fought long and hard to enter spaces that have been restricted to men. One of the major spaces has been sports. Though there is growing awareness and reforms taking place in every sport, with female athletes proving their sporting abilities, there is still much to change. 


Lack of visibility in sports includes comparatively lesser media representations and coverage, sponsorship deals, limited recognition and gender bias in sports journalism. Very often, female athletes are subject to inquiry about their personal lives and their appearances more than their sporting abilities. 

According to the Women’s Sports Trust, viewership of women’s sports has been on the rise. The average viewing time of women’s sports has increased by 16%. More people are tuning in through the media and in person to take part as an audience in female sports. And yet, the officials of the French Open assumed women’s matches wouldn’t attract viewership.


Thompson-Radford and Skey put forward the concept of ‘visibility bind’. They postulate that visibility in sport cannot be restricted to media representation and viewership; it also leads to long-term implications for problems such as sponsorship endorsement, and it restricts the ability of the sport to inspire younger generations of women. Visibility leads to recognition, and recognition leads to allocation of funds and resources and growth. There are social, cultural, political and economic consequences to visibility. 


The politics of visibility “describes the process of making visible a political category (such as gender or race) that has been historically marginalized in the media.” Through representation and recognition, women gain power and respect. When they don’t, they are disempowered and disenfranchised. Moreover, visibility is very important for inspiring young girls to gain access to sports and give them a chance to excel at it. 


The wage gap problem was about equality, but visibility requires the need to understand equity. Moving from visibility to equity, certain questions arise. First of all, what is equity in sport? Why and how is it different from equality? Second, how does visibility lead to equity?


In simple terms, equality in sport means that everyone, regardless of differences, receives equal opportunities in terms of resources, training and opportunities. On the other hand, equity recognises and prioritises the differences in people. It aims to provide and tailor opportunities and resources according to the needs of each person. Both equality and equity promote fairness in sports, while equity goes a step further and ensures everybody starts at the same level, leveling out any differences. This begins with ensuring equity in broadcasting women’s matches in highly demanded prime-time slots, and better media visibility no matter the length of the matches. 


Emphasis on equity is much required because very often conversations around fairness in tennis get reduced to the number of sets women play. At Grand Slams, men play best of 5, while women play best of 3. This leads to arguments against women being given the same visibility and opportunities as men. Some coaches and commentators go so far as to say that if women want equality, they should be playing five sets too — suggesting that with today’s training and resources, it’s entirely doable. 


But that argument really misses the point. Five-set matches are incredibly intense and expecting women to match the same format ignores the structural and physiological differences in how the men’s and women’s game have evolved. It’s a bit like gymnastics — men and women don’t perform the same routines or use the same apparatus, yet both are respected for their unique strengths.


That’s where equity comes in. It’s not about asking for the exact same thing; it’s about recognising differences and still ensuring fair treatment, visibility, and respect. Advocating for prime-time slots for women’s matches isn’t just about treating them the same as men; it’s about addressing the ways women’s tennis has been sidelined and giving it the platform it deserves. Representation isn’t just a matter of fairness, it’s a step toward repairing long-standing imbalances in the sport.


The final between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka in Roland Garros this year is said to have been the most viewed match in France in 20 years. Many women’s singles matches have been nothing short of exemplary, with all the hard work and strategy that goes into the making of an athlete. Only when more people learn to appreciate the sport of women can women be recognised and be supported to compete at the highest level. The quality of women’s tennis is underappreciated due to the misrecognition of its appeal. 


Top-ranked players like Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek also expressed their concern over how they do not see packed stadiums in most of their matches and how they are hurt by the invisibility. It is high time the tennis world acknowledges this.


As Jabeur wrote, 


“The game is full of stories. Of greatness. Of fight. Of grace under pressure. And still, many choose not to look. Not to listen. Not to care.


But belief is not a requirement. Permission is not necessary. Respect may be delayed, but progress isn’t waiting.


So when the headlines say 'no one watches,' remember: Full stands were just never part of their narrative.


When the narrative says 'too easy,' look closer: It took years to win that fast. 


And when someone says women don’t play with power, watch again and be honest this time. 


The game is not asking to be seen. It’s already shining.”




Edited by Anish Paranjape


Asvika (she/her) is a student of Political Science at OP Jindal Global University, and a Copyeditor at Political Pandora. Her research interests lie in anthropology, culture, grassroots politics and the intersection between literature and politics.

 


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Keywords: Gender Discrimination In Tennis, Women’s Tennis Visibility, Prime Time Matches Equality, Ons Jabeur French Open Reaction, WTA Gender Equity Fight, Night Matches For Women, Tennis Sexism Controversy 2024, Billie Jean King Legacy, Equal Prize Money Tennis History, Coco Gauff Prize Money, Mauresmo French Open Criticism, Sports Equity Vs Equality, Women In Sport Media Coverage, French Open Match Scheduling, Patriarchy In Professional Sports

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