A big step backwards

Why Andy Murray considers himself a feminist?

In 2019 Murray marked himself a feminist saying: “Have I become a feminist? Well, if being a feminist is about fighting so that a woman is treated like a man then, yes, I suppose I have.”

Recently Andy Murray voiced his disappointment concerning the gender bias at Dubai tennis Championships.

‘A big step backwards’: Andy Murray slams huge prize money discrepancy at Dubai tennis Championships

Tennis is often perceived as a worldwide leader in gender equality with equal prize money paid to men and women at the 4 Grand Slams. But a major inconsistency revealed this week during the Dubai Championships has sparked criticism from past men’s number one, Andy Murray.

In the women’s final winner at the Dubai Championships (WTA 500 event), Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko pocketed $104,180, but her male equivalent takes home close to 5 times more equivalent to a cool $523,740.

“Evidently that’s a big step backwards, so it’s not good,” Murray told journalists during the post-match interview after his 7-5, 6-2 loss to Jannik Sinner.

“If they’re the equal size events one week apart, that’s quite a big inconsistency.”

Murray has been vocal in his support for fairness and gender equality in the sport, and has made major personal assertions like contracting former WTA tennis great, Amelie Mauresmo as his mentor and coach in 2020.

In an op-ed for The Guardian, he described the double standards at play, implying many had been critical of his choice to work with Mauresmo purely because of her gender.

“I did well with Amélie and went far into grand slam finals, but a lot of critics saw the period when we worked together as a disappointment because I didn’t gain a grand slam title,” Andy wrote. “People criticized her for that, but that wasn’t the same thought process when it came to my other coaches – it was always me who was the problem, and I would get the critique when I failed. With Amélie, the questions I would come across a lot of the time after losing matches would be about our relationship. I’ve never had that at any other time in my career when I was with male coaches.”

Murray went on to note that the “best coaches should be the best people and without gender bias” and that more women were needed in this position within professional tennis.

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