Roger Federer fans were incensed by a remark Billie Jean King made about the Swiss following his recent induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The remark revolved around the fight for equality in terms of equal pay in tennis for both men’s and women’s players.
Speaking to Racquet‘s Jake Nevins, King wished for Federer to contribute more to ensure equality between men’s and women’s tennis. Bringing up the Swiss’ twin daughters Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and twin sons Leo and Lenny, the WTA founder said:
Thanks for the submission!
“I wish he would fight for equality more because I keep saying, You have two boys and two girls! You have equality in your household!”
King, a former World No. 1 in women’s tennis and a 12-time singles major champion who has strived for equality in tennis for much of her life, went on to claim that Federer doesn’t raise his voice against inequality because of his financial interests.
“You think he’d ever do anything to rock the boat? He doesn’t want to. I’d want to make money, too,” she added.
Numerous Roger Federer fans, clearly furious at what Billie Jean King said, took to X (formerly Twitter) and slammed the 82-year-old.
“Billie Jean King should start worrying about not propping serial abuser (Alexander) Zverev before she points fingers at anybody for anything, hypocrite,” one fan wrote.
“What a smug, self righteous, scold she is,” commented another.
“She’s so much into equality, she supports men in women’s sports,” another fan chimed in.
“Equality is a sham. There is no equality, the purpose of competition is to prove that. Superior, inferior, weak strong, smart dumb, fast slow. There is no equality,” one opined.
“Until women start playing best out of 5 sets there is no “equality” argument,” added another.
“What the h**l does she even want? The women playing best of five in slams, since they already get the equal prize money? Force the fans to buy tickets to women’s matches if they buy on to a men’s match? Maybe Roger could cheerlead? I really wish she would shut up already,” weighed in yet another fan.
Roger Federer’s different takes on equal prize money for men’s & women’s tennis players over the years
At the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, the now-retired Gilles Simon of France stirred controversy by opining that women’s tennis players should not earn as much as their men’s counterparts at the majors because they play best-of-three-sets matches instead of best-of-five. Roger Federer was asked to share his thoughts on the subject during a press conference. The Swiss said at the time:
“I hope it doesn’t become a big issue during Wimbledon. It’s obviously a debate that’s out there ever since I guess the slams have made equal prize money… There’s nothing you can do anyway about it. It’s just a matter of who believes what, and then that is an endless debate.”
Four years later, in Miami, the Swiss laid bare his support for equal prize money but also opined that tournament directors have a say in the matter.
“I’m all for equal prize money. But then you have to look at the history of each and every event, where it came from. Some tournaments were a men’s tournament, then the women joined or vice versa, it was a women’s tournament and we joined them. It’s sometimes hard to make equal prize money there. It’s up to the tournament director to decide if he wants it to be that way,” Federer said.
The former No. 1 and 20-time major winner once again touched on the subject after he was eliminated from the 2019 Australian Open. This time around, the Swiss expressed happiness at the fact that more and more tournaments were guaranteeing equal pay for both men’s and women’s tennis players, saying:
“When I fought for equal prize money for the men’s game, I knew it was a dollar for a dollar also for the women’s game going up. I was really, really happy for them. They deserve it. They also deserve it on the other tour, on the WTA Tour. I know they’re lagging a little bit. That would be nice to see it going up.”
Federer officially retired from tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup after years of struggling with his knees. The Swiss continues to remain associated with the sport through high-profile exhibition appearances and attending matches at some of the biggest tournaments.
Edited by Sudipto Pati