“We have already come a long way, but we also have a long way to go”.
Tennis ace Andrea Petkovic (34) spoke about the equality of men and women in their sport as part of the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup). In an interview with the “Sportschau” she complained that there was still “latent sexism” in tennis.
Sexism anger at Petkovic
“After games, we women always get irritating messages and comments on social media. I doubt it is the same on the men’s tour. Our outfits are always discussed there, how we wear our hair, ”said Petkovic before the opening game of the German team, which lost 2-1 to the hosts in the Czech Republic.
Petkovic also criticized those responsible on the tour – because women’s matches are repeatedly disadvantaged in major tournaments. “That still happens today. When it rained for two days at the French Open two years ago, the women’s semifinals were played on the smaller courts, while the men played on the larger courts. This latent sexism still comes out of that, ”said Petkovic.
Since this year the Fed Cup has been named after the former US world-class player Billie Jean King (77), who advocated fairer pay for women in tennis more than 50 years ago. Petkovic: “For me she is an ancestor, because of whom I play. (…) She is someone to whom I owe everything. Without them there would be no professional women’s sport as it exists today. “
From Petkovic’s point of view, however, the path that was paved at that time is far from over.
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