How to start a war: Men's vs Women's Tennis

Bobby Riggs of the USA in action during a Battle of the Sexes Challenge Match against Billie Jean-King of the USA held at the Astrodome, in Houston, Texas.

After years of research, French academic Jo Wilfred Tsonga finally presented his findings on the virulent behaviour of women on the tennis court. It dawned on him that the behaviour of women was a direct result of their ‘hormones and all this stuff’.

Tsonga’s acute research was in an area we love to call ‘Don’t ever go there’. This perennial argument has never been ‘argued’ so much as fought with swords and cutlasses. Tsonga’s statement seemed especially ludicrous considering it was men like Marat Safin and John McEnroe that gave tantrums an identity within themselves. Safin, who I sometimes think was paid by HEAD by the end of his career to break a minimum number of rackets every year, smashed a routine 30 frames a year.

Of course, Tsonga hasn’t been the only one to invite the assassin’s department of women’s liberation for a good old fashioned killing. Andy Murray nurtured his first controversy when he jokingly said that he, as well as his opponent in a match (Kenneth Carlsen), played like women in the first set. Besides being loudly booed on court, he tried covering up with an incredibly intelligence-insulting cover-up about how he was referring to the total number of times he was broken in the match.

There used to be a time where sparring between men and women did marvels for tennis publicity. Bobby Riggs’ famous matches against Margaret Court and Billie Jean King come to mind. Televised internationally to an audience of millions, Riggs destroyed Court in his first match 6-2, 6-1 and landed himself in the sporting spotlight. Riggs’ entire determination to play a woman was to prove that women’s tennis was inferior. His match against Court, who was No.1 in the world then, was evenly matched by the fact that he was developing a pot belly and was 55 years old.

Riggs went on to challenge Billie Jean King, in a huge match which had people betting on the outcome for months. King defeated Riggs in straight sets, much to the disappointment of men in general all over the world. 30,000 people saw the match in the stadium, which has been one of the largest crowds to ever watch a tennis match. 40 million watched worldwide.

The William sisters had once declared that they’d be able to beat any man outside the top 200. Challenge accepted by Karsten Braasch. Braasch, who was ranked 203 at the time dismantled Venus Williams 6-2, and went on to hammer Serena 6-1. He airily told the press he played the match after a warm up involving two rounds of golf and a pre-match gulp down of two beers.

Recently, Gilles Simon’s comments about the ‘unfair’ equal prize money distribution had women players furious. Simon’s argument was based on the fact that a Sunday men’s final has far more entertainment value in terms of money as compared to the women’s side. Simon said players should be paid in comparison to the revenue their matches generate.

Valid or not, comments about the opposite sex always come at a price. The publicity they generate is a fair enough bargain for most to keep the trend going.