On Sunday, ahead of the BNP Paribas Open women’s final match between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, Indian Wells CEO Raymond Moore delivered a series of sexist comments during a press conference that was almost too unbelievable to be true.
“In my next life, when I come back, I want to be someone in the WTA [Women’s Tennis Association] because they ride on the coattails of the men,” said Moore, before continuing to add that female players don’t make any decisions and have just been very lucky. “If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have." Oh, and it gets worse.
Not content with belittling the tennis achievements of an entire gender, Moore went on to discuss their looks. “I think the WTA have a handful, not just one or two, but they have a handful of very attractive prospects that can assume the mantle. You know, [Garbiñe] Muguruza, Genie Bouchard,” he added. “They have a lot of very attractive players.” When a reporter later asked him if he was referring to women’s competitive attractiveness or their physical appearance, Moore said, “I mean both.”
Then once again, Williams, who flawlessly responded to a body-shaming New York Times article last summer, quickly shut down the haters.
Even though the world’s number one female tennis player went on to lose the final against Azarenka, she emerged triumphant with her no-nonsense response toward Moore’s misogynist remarks. "Obviously, I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that," Williams said to a crowd of reporters. “If I could tell you every day how many people say they don't watch tennis unless they're watching myself or my sister, I couldn't even bring up that number. So I don't think that is a very accurate statement.”
When asked whether or not Moore’s comments might have been misunderstood, Williams clearly did not give him the benefit of the doubt. “If you read the transcript you can only interpret it one way. I speak very good English; I’m sure he does, too,” she said. “You know, there's only one way to interpret that. Get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man, which is not—we, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn't have to drop to our knees at any point."
Before moving on to the next question, Williams delivered a final killer comeback. “Last year, the women’s final at the US Open sold outwell before the men,” she added. “I’m sorry, did Roger play in that final or Rafa or any man play in that final that was sold out before the men’s final? I think not.” For the record, neither Nadal nor Federer made it to the Indian Wells final, either.
This isn’t the first time female tennis players have had to deal with this type of gender discrimination in the sport. In 1973, American tennis star Bobby Riggs, who repeatedly stated that female players were inferior to men in tennis, challenged Wimbledon women's champion Billie Jean King to a match. The infamous “Battle of the Sexes” match was watched by 90 million people, and in front of the whole world, Riggs ended up losing to King in an epic showdown. As for the women’s tennis legend’s thoughts on Moore’s recent comments, King took to Twitter yesterday to express her disappointment. “He is wrong on so many levels,” she wrote. “Every player, especially the top players, contribute to our success.”
Similarly, Indian Wells champion Azarenka has had to deal with her fair share of gender bias. At last year’s Wimbledon tournament, a reporter asked her if she had noticed the crowd’s reaction to her loud grunting on the court. “I’m so tired of these questions all the time,” she said. “It’s so annoying because guys grunt. I was practicing next to Nadal, and he grunts louder than me, and nobody notices that,” she said. “We’ve got to look a little bit past that and see: ‘Oh, my God, Serena played 24 aces.’ Look at the good stuff, stop bringing this ridiculous stuff. Let’s put aside the noise and how she looks, and look at the game. The game proved itself today.”
And while we believe these women have nothing to prove, it doesn’t hurt to take a quick look at the numbers, too. As of now, Federer and Nadal have won $552,325 and $232,727 in prize money, respectively. Meanwhile, Williams has raked in more than double their two winnings combined, with a total of $1,778,685, while Azarenka is right behind her with $1,506,573. You know what Beyoncé says: Best revenge is your paper.
