Unequal Pay In Tennis Research Paper

People all over America and the world are consumed with watching athletes perform in their various sports. Both male and female athletes compete at such incredible levels that require physical talent and drive. Professional athletes are known to get paid salaries that reflect their talent and abilities. Regardless of gender, professional athletes are drafted to receive professional pay. However, equal pay for male and female athletes with the same credentials does not occur today. There is a belief that male athletes are worth more than female athletes and are better at promoting themselves. Also, women salaries are lower because of their gender and are not

“Equal play. Equal pay.” –U.S. Women’s National Team (Reiher). The gender pay gap is surprisingly still a large problem today. Not only in soccer, but in every sport women exert the most effort, yet they do not receive the credit. The U.S. Woman’s National Team should receive an equal amount of pay as the men’s team because they have won more titles, they are better soccer players, and they bring in more income.

Lopiano complains that there’s too much of a salaries gap between man and women playing the same sports. “The right to play has been established. However, the issue that has been confronted is the barrier to being treated equally when it comes to money” (Lopiano 1). Most people will say women’s tennis matches are more exciting than men’s matches; men’s victory purses are still considerably higher than women’s victory purses. Top women tennis players earned 59 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. The average total purse was $63,031,000.00 for top men players and $41,000,000.00 for top women players (Daniel Frankl 2). In soccer, the Women’s World Cup soccer team was promised $12,500 if they won compared to the $300,000 male players were to receive. The payout for women players was increased to $50,000 because fans protested the unfair payout gap between the male and female players (Lopiano 1); it’s still 1/6 the payout

Many women professional basketball players work hard, are dedicated, and have a genuine love for the game; however, many of them are very underpaid when compared to the men professional basketball players. The difference between what men and women are paid for the same job is referred to as the gender wage gap. In the United States that gap is 78 cents, so a woman is paid 78 cents for every dollar paid to a man doing the same work. Lynx player Maya Moore said, "We’re not super rich like the guys … but money’s not everything when you’re talking about dynasties and legacies, and inspiring young women and men, and opening people’s minds." Obviously, they do not play for the money, they play because they love the game of basketball. The women basketball players work really hard and inspire more people everyday. They should be awarded and paid the equal amount just as any male basketball player.

The WNBA and NBA both have salary wages but are they of equal pay? NBA players make way more money than a WNBA player. It shouldn’t matter about gender. The NBA makes , more money at a single game so they can afford a higher budget to pay the athletes more money. They make more money due to an higher popularity rate than a women’s game. “An average NBA athlete makes 5.15 million dollars a year and the NBA itself makes up to five billion dollars a season.” ("Gender, 2014) That’s a lot of money compared to what the WNBA accounts for in a year.

People pretend it doesn’t exist, but racism is still here and much alive.  Tennis prides itself on being innovators. That’s why tennis awards equal prize money, television and media coverage to both male and female tennis players. The fact remains that tennis wouldn’t be true innovators until it stops racism. Serena and Venus William’s two African American sisters began tennis when they were young and soon started having massive success. The success the two sisters had brought inspiration and influenced other young African Americans to join the game.

The author of The Colonel, Michael Hogan, details how a certain Army Colonel influenced his life through the sport of tennis. Hogan begins by indicating how mainstreamed tennis is today, to the point an average adolescent could not imagine tennis as a ‘rich man’ sport. In the fifties, when Hogan was a child, tennis was a sport reserved for mostly men at country clubs and private resorts. Women had competed at international competitions such as Wimbledon for a several years, but many of them were amateurs (oftentimes paid little). Fortunately for female tennis players, Billie Jean King’s assertiveness, in 1967, and the Virginia Slim tournaments, in the seventies, influenced tennis to include women in professional tennis (such as Chris Everts

Yes, it does depend on how well you do your job and how long you have been doing it, but it should not be based on gender. In the article “Pay Equity & Discrimination” it states, “ Women continue to earn considerably less than men. Female full-time, year-round workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent.” This shows that men are paid more than women in a lot of jobs, including basketball. Basketball is the largest difference in pay that I have ever seen. Basketball has two leagues, the WNBA and NBA. NBA is the National Basketball Association, and the WNBA is the Women's National Basketball Association. This divides women and men’s teams, and who they play. Overall, they are playing the same sport, so they deserve to be paid the same. Another example is stated in the article “Difference Between Men’s and Women’s Basketball” by Steve Silverman when it says, “ There are quite a few differences between men's and women's basketball, many of which have to do with the rules. They also include the style of play as well as its overall popularity. ” Basically they are basing the pay off of gender. The style of play might not be the same, but this should not have to do with how they pay. So paying them off of the style between the men and women is how it should be decided? I don't think that it is a good idea to have the pay this way because it could get people upset with the league, and the

The US women’s soccer team are only paid about a fourth of what the men are paid, even though they actually preform at a level well above that of the men’s, and create more income for the corporation; In fact, the women’s soccer team made approximately $20 million more money in revenue than the men’s soccer team ("U.S. Women's Team Files Wage-discrimination Action vs. U.S. Soccer"). Another instance of the men’s team earning more money than the women’s team unfairly is that the women were only paid $2 million dollars total when they won the world cup in 2015, while the men’s team (who got to round 16 before they lost) were paid a total of $9 million dollars ("U.S. Women's Team Files Wage-discrimination Action vs. U.S. Soccer"). That means that the women’s team was paid approximately 22% of what the men’s team was being paid, creating a wage gap that is even larger than what the one from the 1960’s. If you go by the logic of paying someone based on the worker’s effort and skill, as it is stated in the Equal Pay Act, than the women’s team should be paid significantly more than the men’s team, not the other way

The pay in both the professional women's soccer team and the professional men's soccer team is very unequal. The players on the women's team get paid nearly a fourth less which is very surprising considering how good they are. Both teams play the same game do the same sport and represent the same team so why aren't they payed the same? I believe the women's team should be paid the same as the men's or even more because of their amazing results.

Before Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams were double partners entering the game, women’s tennis had an unique monolithic leading image; thin white women with straight ponytails prancing up and down. As mundane as it sounds, it was to watch. Then two young black female teenagers with beaded braids from Compton, California dominant the scene both physically and visibly. Paul Cohen, was the girls first professional tennis coach is quoted saying “I wanted to train attack dogs that would intimated anyone on the other side of the net.” He would go on to excitingly explain that he had never seen a six year old as strong as Serena, while describing Venus as athletically graceful in the same breath.

Next up, Christine Huynh and Serena Williams. Walking out to the court was probably the most terrifying, but honorable accomplishment that I have ever achieved. Serena Williams, ranked number one in women's singles tennis, had always been a role model, from her constant determination and ambition to her fierce movements on the court. After years of training, I considered myself assuredly prepared to compete with the legendary player. The first game passed, following the second. I noticed crowds were roaring. Parents were crying. Lights were flashing. The officials announced, “Christine Huynh, winner of the 2016 Tennis Tournament!” Tears ran down my face. Knees fell to the ground, as I can finally say that I defeated Serena Williams.

Sexism limits our country. In a world where sexism still exists, women face challenges every day as they choose to embark in athletic activities. Even with the efforts of Title IX, which was established in 1972, there is not equality in sports for men and women. Sexism is real with stereotypes and discrimination on the basis of sex. Even with the high level of success reached by numerous female athletes of many different sports, male athletes always seem to have the upper hand. Whether it is pay, media, support, gear, or playing grounds, one sex always has the better of the two. Male athletes dominate a field that truly is shared by both sexes. What if we treated male athletes the way we treat female athletes? That is a world hard to imagine, and honestly, it shouldn't be. Through female athletes sharing their stories of unfair treatment and pay, sexism and generations of inequality in sports can be overcome.

Thanks to Venus Williams and Billie Jean King fight at Wimbledon, women now have equal pay at tournaments. Venus and Serena Williams faced each other in an intense match at the Wimbledon tournament that ended in victory for younger sister Serena. Venus Williams has fought and helped win a long battle for women athletes. According to ESPNW, Williams made her first public mention of the need for grand slam events to award equal prize money to men and women back in 1998,after a first round Wimbledon match. At the time in the world, the U.S. open was the only grand slam tournament that awarded equal prize money to male and females champions. At Wimbledon, one of the major grand slam events and

Furthermore, King went on to boycott the difference in pay between males and females in tennis. She was the first female tennis player to win more than $100,000 in a season, yet male players were still making three times this amount. The movement resulted in the first female tennis tour and the creating of WomenSports Magazine and the Women’s Sports Foundation. After retiring, she continued to advocate for gender equity.