ITF changed Davis Cup without thinking about Fed Cup - Navratilova
Speaking to reporters during the Australian Open in Melbourne, 18-time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova commented on the lack of gender equality in tennis, making some clear examples of why there are still some steps forward to be made. “Clearly we don’t have it at the moment because the ITF changed the format of the Davis Cup and never gave the women a second thought", said Navratilova. "We are an afterthought. I’m not happy about that.”
Navratilova added: “Men are on the boards of the big corporations, the boards. They have money at their disposal and they are much more likely to throw it at male athletes, than female athletes. So we have a lot of inequality to overcome overall. Women’s tennis is growing right now. For example, at the season ending tournament, the women are getting a lot more money than the guys. In some ways we are doing better, but there is still inequality. It’s the same on the commercial level. We’re inching up there, but there is a long way to go."
The new format of the Davis Cup will be played, starting on 1st-2nd February this year. Although there is a lot of anger about the change of the format and the 102-year-old history of the tournament, many are also interested to see how the tournament will look. The finals will be played from 18th-24th November in Madrid.
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from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2TcUryt
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