Rising Stars Tennis

Novak Djokovic sparks controversy, apologizes and then claims to support equal prize money for both genders

The number-one ranked tennis player in the world — Novak Djokovic — sparked controversy over the weekend when he questioned whether women in tennis deserve equal pay. Djokovic was speaking after winning the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells recently.

Before the matches began, the event's CEO, Raymond Moore, said that women were riding "on the coattails of men". Djokovic called these remarks "not politically correct." However, while praising the women for their efforts on equal pay, Djokovic said that men should "fight for more."

"Obviously it's a very delicate situation," he said. "Women deserve respect and admiration for what they are doing. You know, equal prize money was the main subject of the tennis world in the last seven, eight years."

He went on to say, "I applaud them for that, I honestly do. They fought for what they deserve and they got it. On the other hand I think that our men's tennis world, ATP World, should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men's tennis matches."

Currently, female tennis players are paid significantly less at women's-only events when compared with men's events of the same size. Comparatively, number-one male player Djokovic won $21.65 million last year, while number-one female player Serena Williams won $10.58 million.

Williams weighed in on the comments from Djokovic. She also expressed shock that anyone would question pay equity after the excitement surrounding last year's U.S. Open. Williams' Grand Slam bid caused tickets to the women’s final to sell out before the men’s final for the first time in tournament history.
Andy Murray, a long-time champion of equality in tennis, agreed, stating his Serbian rival misjudged the situation and that his claims made no sense.
Djokovic has since had time to reflect on what he said, and claims his comments were made in the heat of the moment and taken out of context.
Addressing fans via Facebook, the 28-year-old released a statement entitled 'better game for all'. 'I typically use this page to share my excitement with you, especially after big wins,' he wrote.
But this time I had to take a few deep breaths before addressing you. As you may have seen, I was asked to comment on a controversy that wasn’t of my making. Euphoria and adrenalin after the win on Sunday got the best of me and I’ve made some comments that are not the best articulation of my view, and I would like to clarify them.
As you all know, I care deeply about the future of the game and all of the players. Tennis helped me so much in my life and being where I am today, I felt the need to speak about the fairer and better distribution of funds across the board - this was meant for both men and women.
We all have to fight for what we deserve. This was never meant to be made into a fight between genders and differences in pay, but in the way all players are rewarded for their play and effort.
Tennis is a sport that I love and that gave me the opportunity to help others who still have a long way to go to achieve their dreams. This was my view all along and I want to apologize to anyone who has taken this the wrong way.'

"I never had an issue with equality in gender or sport or other areas of life," Djokovic said. "We all deserve more of the wealth distribution from the tournaments."I feel very sorry if I hurt my female colleague tennis players. I have a huge respect for all of them." Djokovic said he had sent messages to Andy Murray, Serena Williams and others who had been critical of the comments made in the wake of his victory in Sunday's final at Indian Wells.
"I never had any intention to offend them or come up with any negative connotations in my statement," Djokovic said.
Following the controversy, Novak Djokovic says he is in favour of equity in prize money in tennis.
Djokovic also mentioned the respect for women's players to compete at such a high level, noting, "they have to go through a lot of different things that we don't have to go through, you know, the hormones and different stuff."
Djokovic, who again will try to complete a career grand slam at the French Open, said he was shocked at the firestorm his comments caused.
"I was a little bit surprised with what kind of proportions and directions this story got in the media the past few days," Djokovic said.
Wonder what tricks Djokovic has up his sleeve, next?

Shocking News on International Women's Day:
Maria Sharapova's tennis career and Olympic hopes are in jeopardy, and she claims it's all because she failed to click on a link in an email that would have told her to stop taking meldonium.
The five-time major champion says she failed a doping test at the Australian Open in January for the little-known drug, which became a banned substance under the WADA code this year. The former world No. 1 took full responsibility for her mistake when she made the announcement at a news conference Monday in Los Angeles.
Sharapova could face a lengthy ban from the International Tennis Federation, possibly ending her season and preventing her from competing for Russia at the Rio Olympics.
"I know that with this, I face consequences," Sharapova said. "I don't want to end my career this way, and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game."
The 28-year-old Sharapova received notice last week that she tested positive for meldonium, a blood flow-promoting drug she has been taking for 10 years for numerous health issues. Meldonium was banned because it aids oxygen uptake and endurance, and several athletes across international sports have already been caught using it.
Sharapova and all players were notified of the changes in the WADA banned substances list in December. Sharapova claimed she simply missed the change, neglecting to click on the link.
"I take great responsibility and professionalism in my job, and I made a huge mistake," Sharapova said. "I let my fans down. I let the sport down that I've been playing since the age of 4, that I love so deeply."
Meldonium, also known as mildronate, is a Latvian-manufactured drug popular for fighting heart disease in former Soviet Union countries. Meldonium treats ischemia, or lack of blood flow, but can be taken in large doses as a performance-enhancer.
Sharapova said she began taking meldonium for "several health issues I had back in 2006," including a magnesium deficiency, regular influenza, "irregular" heart test results and early indications of diabetes, of which she has a family history.
Sharapova's penalties could range from a multiyear ban to a minimal sanction with no suspension if officials believe she made an honest mistake. WADA President Craig Reedie told The Associated Press that any athlete found guilty of using meldonium would normally face a one-year suspension.
The ITF's anti-doping program announced in a statement that Sharapova will be provisionally suspended starting this weekend while her case is examined. WADA spokesman Ben Nichols said the organization won't comment until the ITF makes a decision.
Sharapova and her attorney, John J. Haggerty, declined to say where Sharapova was put on the drug or where she gets it now, citing the ongoing process with the ITF. Meldonium is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Sharapova said she took the test shortly before she lost to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Jan. 26. Sharapova hasn't played since then while recovering from a forearm injury, and she had already dropped out of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which begins this week.
"She is very organized and she takes her career very seriously," Haggerty told the AP. "When she first started to take this back in 2006, she made sure it was approved, that it wasn't on the banned list, and checked in future years. Because she had taken it for so many years, and it was OK year after year, it just got off the radar.
"When she got the letter, she was shocked, completely stunned. She takes great pride in her integrity and how she approaches the game, and she immediately wanted to come forward and take responsibility."
But Sharapova has struggled with injuries throughout her career, repeatedly forcing her to take extended breaks from competition. She had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, forcing her to change her serving motion, and has struggled with hamstring injuries.
The star had a moment of levity when she acknowledged the incorrect assumptions about the reason she had called a news conference.
"If I was going to announce my retirement, it wouldn't be in a downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet," she said

Serena Williams - A Biography
Born in 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, Serena Jameka Williams began her intensive tennis training at the age of 3 years. She won her first major championship in 1999 and completed the career Grand Slam in 2003. Along with her individual success, Williams teamed with her sister Venus to win a series of doubles titles. Her victory at Wimbledon in 2015 made her the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era.
The youngest of Richard and Oracene Williams's five daughters, Serena Williams, along with her sister Venus, would grow up to become one of the sport's great champions.
Serena's father—a former sharecropper from Louisiana determined to see his two youngest girls succeed—used what he'd gleaned from tennis books and videos to instruct Serena and Venus on how to play the game. Practicing on a court not far from the family's new Compton, California, home, Serena withstood the rigors of daily two-hour practices from her father.
The fact that the family had relocated to Compton was no accident. With its high rate of gang activity, Richard Williams wanted to expose his daughters to the ugly possibilities of life "if they did not work hard and get an education." In this setting, on courts that were riddled with potholes and sometimes missing nets, Serena and Venus cut their teeth on the game of tennis and the requirements for persevering in a tough climate.
By 1991, Serena was 46-3 on the junior United States Tennis Association tour, and ranked first in the 10-and-under division. Sensing his girls needed better instruction to become successful professionals, he moved his family again—this time to Florida. There, Richard let go of some of his coaching responsibilities, but not the management of Serena's and Venus's career. Wary of his daughters burning out too quickly, he scaled back their junior tournament schedule.
In 1995, Serena turned pro. Two years later, she was already No. 99 in the world rankings—up from No. 304 just 12 months before. A year later, she graduated high school, and almost immediately inked a $12 million shoe deal with Puma. In 1999, she beat out her sister in their race to the family's first Grand Slam win, when she captured the U.S. Open title.
It set the stage for a run of high-powered, high-profile victories for both Williams sisters. With their signature style and play, Venus and Serena changed the look of their sport as well. Their sheer power and athletic ability overwhelmed opponents, and their sense of style and presence made them standout celebrities on the court.
In 2002, Serena won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, defeating Venus in the finals of each tournament. She captured her first Australian Open in 2003, making her one of only six women in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam. The win also fulfilled her desire to hold all four major titles simultaneously to comprise what she'd dubbed "The Serena Slam." In 2008, she won the U.S. Open and teamed with Venus to capture a second women's doubles Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games.
But Serena also had her scrapes and losses. She underwent knee surgery in August 2003, and in September her half-sister Yetunde Price was murdered in Los Angeles, California. Three years later, Serena seemed burned out. Bitten by injuries, and just a general lack of motivation to stay fit or compete at the same level she once had, Serena saw her tennis ranking slump to 139.
Serena credited her faith as a Jehovah's Witness, as well as a life-changing journey she made to West Africa for renewing her pride and competitive fire. By 2009, Williams had released a new autobiography, Queen of the Court, and won her place back atop the world's rankings, winning both the 2009 Australian Open singles (for the fourth time) and Wimbledon 2009 singles (for the third time). She also won the doubles matches at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon that year.
But not everything went smoothly. Williams made headlines in September of that year, when she blasted a lineswomen for a foot-fault called near the end of a semifinal loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open. The profanity-laced outburst included finger pointing and, according to the lineswoman, an alleged threat from Serena against her life.
Williams downplayed what happened, refuting the allegation that she'd threatened the woman. But the incident did not go over well with the tennis viewing public, nor the U.S. Tennis Association, which fined her $10,000 on the spot. Two months later, she was placed on two-year probation and ordered to pay another $82,500 to the Grand Slam committee for the episode, the largest punishment ever levied against a tennis player.
By early 2010, however, Serena was doing her best to move past the incident. Sure enough, that year she won the Australian Open singles and doubles matches, as well as her fourth Wimbledon singles championship.
In 2011, Williams suffered a series of health scares, after doctors found a blood clot in one of her lungs, which kept her away from tennis for several months. Following several procedures, including one to remove a hematoma, speculation rose as to whether Williams would retire from the sport. Her health had improved by September 2011, however, and Williams looked like her old dominant self at the U.S. Open before falling to Samantha Stosur in the finals.
Williams stumbled badly at the 2012 French Open, enduring a first-round loss for the first time at a major tournament. But she was back in top form in London that summer, defeating 23-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska in an emotional three sets to claim her fifth Wimbledon singles title and first major championship in two years.
At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, Serena beat Maria Sharapova to take her first gold medal in women's singles. The next day, she claimed her fourth overall Olympic gold medal by teaming with sister Venus to defeat Czech Republic stars Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in women's doubles.
Williams continued her winning streak to her next Grand Slam event. In September 2012, she beat out rival Victoria Azarenka to take the singles title at the U.S. Open. According to USA Today, Williams wasn't sure that she'd emerge victorious.
By this time, Williams had captured 15 Grand Slam singles titles and 13 Grand Slam doubles titles. "I would like to leave a mark," Williams once said about her standing in the tennis world. "I think obviously I will, due to the fact that I'm doing something different in tennis. But I don't think I could ever reach something like a Martina Navratilova—I don't think I'd ever play that long—but who knows? I think I'll leave a mark regardless."
In June 2013, Williams took her second French Open title—as well as her 16th Grand Slam singles title—in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over defending champion Sharapova. "I'm still a little bit upset about that loss last year," Williams said in an interview with ESPN following the match. "But it's all about, for me, how you recover. I think I've always said a champion isn't about how much they win, but it's about how they recover from their downs, whether it's an injury or whether it's a loss."
Nearly one month later, Williams competed at Wimbledon, where she suffered a shocking loss (6-2, 1-6, 6-4) in the fourth round to Germany's Sabine Lisicki, the No. 23 seed. Her career-best 34-match winning streak over, Williams told Sports Illustrated, "I don't think it's a huge shock. [Lisicki] is a great player. Her ranking has no effect on what she should be. She should be ranked higher. She just has a super game to play well on grass."
At the U.S. Open, Williams made a strong showing. She knocked out her younger rival Sloane Stephens in the fourth round before upending Azarenka to clinch the U.S. Open title. It was the second year in a row that the pair had faced off in the finals.
Williams clinched her third straight and sixth overall U.S. Open singles title in 2014 by defeating her good friend Caroline Wozniacki. Her winning ways carried into the new year, as she beat Sharapova to claim the 2015 Australian Open championship. At the French Open in June, Williams managed to overcome illness to win the tournament for the third time and claim her 20th Grand Slam singles title, good for third place all-time.
"When I was a little girl, in California, my father and my mother wanted me to play tennis," she told the crowd in French after her victory. "And now I'm here, with 20 Grand Slam titles."
Seeking to add to her hardware collection that summer, Williams had to overcome big sister Venus to advance past the fourth round at Wimbledon. A few days later, she defeated Garbine Muguruza in the final to claim her second career "Serena Slam" and become the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era.
At the 2015 U.S. Open, Williams again squared off with her sister in a tough quarterfinal matchup, this time pulling away in the deciding third set. The outcome left her two wins shy of the calendar year Grand Slam, a feat accomplished by just three women in the sport's history. But it was not to be. In a shocking upset, unseeded Roberta Vinci, ranked No. 43 in the world, dashed Williams's quest by pulling out a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in the semifinal
Personal Life
Proving to have much more than just tennis clout, Serena expanded her brand into film, television, and fashion. She developed her own "Aneres" line of clothing, and in 2002 People magazine selected her as one of its 25 Most Intriguing People. Essence magazine later called her one of the country's 50 Most Inspiring African-Americans. She's also made television appearances, and lent her voice to shows such as The Simpsons.

Kim Clijsters - The Come-back Queen Of Tennis
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters of Belgium was a top ranked player both in the junior and senior circuit. She was ranked 4th in the juniors, and reached the very top of the senior professional rankings in the year 2003, without even winning a Grand Slam. Kim finally won her first career Grand Slam by winning the U.S Open in the year 2005. In 2007, she announced retirement from the game of tennis to focus on her personal life. She returned to the game in the year 2009, and won the U.S Open again!
Kim won her third U.S. Open in the year 2010 and the Australian Open in the year 2011. Due to injuries, she was forced to retire after competing in the 2012 U.S. Open.
Kim Clijsters has a powerful physique (from her father, a top football player in Belgium) and flexibility (from her mother, a national gymnast) that melds naturally with a strong baseline game. She has an adept net game and is well-known for her quick transition from the baseline to the net to finish points. Kim is well-known for her all court defense, with emphasis on her speed and athleticism. She is one of the few players on tour who can slide – also known as ‘straddling’, on any court surface. Her athletic abilities and all-round game has enabled her to return to the game, after retirement.
the game, after retirement.

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Why do some women professional players retire after winning their first Grand Slam?
When we look at the U.S.Open 2015, what comes to mind is the case of Flavia Pennetta – the current winner, at the ripe old age of 33. Pennetta immediately announced her retirement from professional tennis, after 15 years on tour. She wanted to go home with the biggest trophy of all, and what better than being the winner of the U.S. Open, and beating her best friend Roberta Vinci in the finale.
The other case would be that of Marion Bartoli, the French player who won Wimbledon 2013, with Amelie Mauresmo as her coach. A few days after winning Wimbledon, she retired citing continuous and increasingly unbearable pain from injuries sustained throughout her career. Bartoli said that she made her dream a reality, and that it will stay forever with her, but she said that her body cannot cope with everything.
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Why do women play only three sets and men five sets?
You know for a long time, this question has always been on my mind. It came into my mind even more when equal prize money was being discussed at the slams.

I've never understood why the women only play the best of three sets. I mean especially now, the women are certainly fit enough. The women are producing some really big 3-set games. I really wish that both males and females should be playing the best of 5 sets. So why does tennis still put this somewhat of a barrier between men and women. It would also put an end to the difference in prize money.

According to www.theaustralian.com,we often think of prejudice in a superficial way. If we think this is trivial, consider the symbolism. At the precise moment when the third set is completed, at a time when male competitors would be steeling themselves for the most intense and compelling stage of the match, female players are expected to shake hands, smile and depart the stage. But here is the question that strikes one most forcibly: why do female players acquiesce in this sexism? They have been vocal in calling for equal prize money, equal status, equal everything. But when it comes to playing over five sets, rather than three, what you might call equality of effort, something that these hugely impressive athletes are perfectly capable of doing, everything seems to change. This 3-set rule was created by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

All it would take is a joint press conference by top players and the three-set scoring system would be confined to history. But the will for change to happen, for the symbolic leveling of the playing field with men that was supposedly of such deep importance just a few years ago, is conspicuous by its absence. It is difficult to resist the feeling that the women players are capable of talking the talk, but not walking the walk.

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Perils of Being a Tennis Pro

There is a lot of glamour and money at the very top of the game. Winning the US Open will fetch you a cool $3 million, and the mixed doubles team winner will split $150,000 in prize money. According to dnaIndia.com (http://bit.ly/1KPDXj6), the average professional tennis player in India spends about 50 lakhs a year, just to stay afloat, and that too with little hope of recovering their money (unless they reach a certain level to the top). That means the player earns only half of what he puts in, only if his individual ranking is inside the top-150 and he manages to win a couple of those events. In short, an Indian player is likely to lose money every year unless he makes it to the top-150 in the rankings in four or five years.
Take the case of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. He has not even once made more money than he has spent, plus he has to spend another 20-25 lakhs every year to train in Germany.

Unless you are Nadal, Djokovic or Murray, it takes 4-5 years till you can get into the top 150. After the junior career, a player enters a host of tourneys as a professional. First is the Futures level (6-9 lakhs) and then comes the Challengers level. Since India hosts only five Challenger events, the players have to travel to various countries to increase their rankings. Hence, the escalating costs, plus stay, food and hospitality.

Even if you win a $50,000 Challenger event, you make only 3.6 lakhs. It is not an easy win and is not going to change your life. Even if it does, and the player moves up the ATP rankings, the costs go skyward.
Sponsorships come in, once you are a part of the regular Davis Cup squad, and so does endorsements (as in the case of Leander Paes). The Bhupathi Tennis Academy charges about 2,000/month at the beginner level, and private coaching sessions cost 1,500-1,800/hour. In the junior career, the kids have to travel to play 10 ITF events, that can cost 1.5 lakhs/week. There is no guarantee that it will translate into the senior professional career. For girls, it can get a bit harder to attract sponsors because the prejudice against women still exists, although not as much as before.
In short, tennis is a game where we have to be ready to invest, only if our kid is exceptionally talented and physically fit. Not to mention passion, and it is not a sport if people want it for fame or money.
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Mirza, Paes aside, what about the others?

India may not have a strong association with tennis, as it has with other sports like cricket, football, etc. However, with the back-to-back triumphs of Leander Paes and Sania Mirza at the US Open 2015, has given us a glimpse of what is possible.

Sania Mirza is currently ranked No. 1 in doubles in the world, and Paes won a total of 17 Grand Slam titles. After Sania, a few players burst onto the scene like Saketh Myneni, Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman. However, none of them have so far been able to emulate the same level of success as their predecessors, in either singles or doubles.

Although India’s success is largely restricted to doubles categories (we have never won a Grand Slam in singles in either the men’s or women’s categories), the future of tennis has been boosted with private leagues like Bhupathi’s Indian Premier Tennis League and Vijay Amritraj’s Champion Tennis League. These leagues have helped build on the excitement to throw up a challenge to other sports, but how far it can go, remains to be seen!

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When you consider the availability of tennis courts, the US aces India by a wide margin. Most parks in every corner of the US have public courts that are open to anyone! Not only that, public schools make their courts and grounds available for the public during non-school hours. Not only that, many of these public courts also have flood lights! So, other than the price of a racket and ball, the cost to play is minimal. Wish we could see such infrastructure in India!
Unlike the US, it is unheard of to come across a public park that has tennis courts that can be used at no cost, in India. It’s rare to find public high schools with courts, let alone with flood-lights. Lessons cost Rs.1500-1800 per hour for private lessons. Signing up with the AITA (All India Tennis Association) will cost us Rs. 3420/year, in order to play club events and AITA-sanctioned events. Tennis in India is a game for only the elite, who want to invest a lot of time/money into it, if they want to be successful in the sport.
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Oh! I Wish It Were Easier To Play Tennis in India
Tennis appeals to a wide audience. Stars like Ramesh Krishnan and Vijay Amritraj have made the sport very popular in India. Watching Wimbledon and other grand slam tournaments have now become commonplace….
Tennis is a game for all ages as there is no age limit on who can enjoy the game.
In the past, tennis was a club sport played primarily on private courts. It wasn’t until much later, that it became a game for the masses. The game owes its popularity to Major Wingfield, who recognized that tennis wasn’t just an English sport, and within a decade it had spread throughout the world.
Tennis was devised by the British as a leisurely sport for the wealthy class. Even though it’s origins are upper-class, the concept of public courts (open for anyone) in the western countries has increased its popularity and appeal.
To make tennis a game for the masses in India, the Governments and businesses should invest a lot of money in building public infrastructure. It would be great to bring tennis to the common man by building public courts and getting community kids to play the game at a nominal cost.
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