The departure of Nadal is accompanied by controversy. Is the Spaniard lying about his view on rewarding female tennis players?

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal is at the end of his career. How is the end of his professional career on the ATP circuit shaping up? Why do some fans accuse him of lying? The eternal debate about the remuneration of male and female tennis players is to blame.

Another attempt to return to the ATP circuit won’t work either. Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the upcoming event in Doha, Qatar, confirming fears that he won’t play much more.

He was quite clear about his future on the tennis courts. This year should be his last among professional tennis players.

The 14-time French Open winner has been preparing for his comeback for a long time. It came this year in Australia, but was short-lived. The Spaniard played three matches and didn’t even play in the Australian Open.

Nadal will make his final decision before this year’s Roland Garros. Which is symbolic, it is this Grand Slam tournament that has become the symbol of his phenomenal career.

Nadal comments on rewarding female tennis players

The tennis legend also managed to comment on a topic that the public regularly returns to. This is the comparison of the earnings of elite female tennis players and their male counterparts.

Nadal expressed himself quite sympathetically on the subject from the point of view of women. There is nothing wrong for him if, for example, Serena Williams generates a higher profit than herself and then also has a higher income.

Rafa Nadal says he supports equal pay for women in tennis & always has:

“For me, equality is not about giving away. If Serena generates more than me and fills stadiums, I don't want to earn more than Serena because ‘he is Rafa Nadal.’ I want equality. I want women to earn more… pic.twitter.com/zTRjWxG96J

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 14, 2024

This statement, however, triggered an avalanche of criticism. Nadal is reminded of his old statements, which sounded a little different than the current attitude of the thirty-seven-year-old tennis player.

Back then, Nadal certainly did not support income equality. He compared tennis to modelling, for example. In this sphere, too, no one is surprised that elite female models have higher incomes than their male colleagues.

In conclusion …

Whether or not you see a contradiction in these statements, there is another way of looking at the matter. The emphasis on the profit generated is important. If female tennis players earn a comparable income to male tennis players, there is no reason not to reward them equally. After all, that’s actually a very fair way of looking at it.

The departure of Nadal is of course a sad thing for Spanish tennis. But it has new hopes to pin on. These days, their generation-younger star Carlos Alcaraz is returning to the circuit. And he certainly has a legacy to build on.

Source: ATP, X, Sportskeeda