Emma Raducanu claims women's tennis players are 'technically better' than men
Emma Raducanu has weighed in on the debate between women's and men's tennis.
Emma Raducanu has sensationally claimed that female tennis players “are technically better” than their male counterparts as she gave her view on the growing debate within the sport.
Raducanu’s rival Aryna Sabalenka kickstarted the conversation when the back-to-back Australian Open champion revealed that she does not tune into her female opponents on TV, insisting that the men’s tour is “more interesting to watch”.
The Belarussian’s opinion was met with significant backlash, including from Iga Swiatek who defeated Sabalenka in a marathon Madrid Open final before making a cutting jibe about her remarks, with Raducanu siding with the Polish star.
The 2021 US Open champion went as far as to claim that those on the WTA are technically superior than the top male tennis players, even though a significant prize money gap remains between the two genders.
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“A lot of women’s players are technically better,” Raducanu told The Times. “They rely on speed, agility and brain rather than brute strength. The prize money gap is huge on the ATP Tour, which I don’t necessarily think is fair, but equally playing three sets in the slams is a lot better than the men’s five, which is brutal.”
The winner of this weekend’s women’s Italian Open final between Swiatek and Sabelanka will take home £225,000 less than either Alexander Zverev or Nicolas Jarry in their final the following day, but Sabalenka still would rather watch the men compete.
“I don't watch their matches (her rivals),” Sabalenka admitted last month. “I feel like I've played against them enough and that, if I face one of them again, my coach is going to show me images of their matches to analyse and prepare me. I’m not someone who watches too much tennis, I prefer to watch men's tennis rather than women's tennis, I feel like there is more strategy and it's more interesting to watch.”
The week after Sabalenka’s comments, she was defeated in Madrid by Swiatek who promptly took the opportunity to rebuff the Belarussian’s stance with: “Well who’s gonna say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?”
The defending French Open champion further elaborated on her stance and how she was in agreement with Raducanu that many players could learn a thing or two from watching the women play.
“I think, you know, obviously if we would have to play against a man we would lose,” she explained. “It's not about that. It's about how two players, you know, match against each other. So I think we can play great matches. You know, I'm No. 1, but I'm seeing these girls in the top 10, we can play such intense battles.
“I think it's all about, you know, what emotions it brings in people, and I think it's not that you should compare, you know, level of tennis, but you should compare, like, what it gives you when you watch it. I think people can take a lot from watching women's tennis, and it can be interesting and emotional.”