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| Nicole Gibbs says being told what she's doing is second class is second nature |
American Nicole Gibbs has revealed she received messages from male players in support of former Indian Wells tournament director Raymond Moore's sexist comments.
Moore resigned after saying the WTA rides on the coat-tails of the men's tour and that female players should get down on their knees every night and "thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born".
Moore's comments were roundly criticised by most figures within tennis, although world No 1 Novak Djokovic found himself in hot water after suggesting male players should earn more prize money because they are more popular. He later apologised.
It is an open secret that not all players in the men's locker room support equal prize money and Gibbs, a vocal advocate of equality, was on the receiving end.
The world number 71 wrote in her column on the WTA website: "For me, being told that what I am doing is second class is second nature.
"Moments after Raymond Moore's comments at Indian Wells a few weeks ago, I received messages from ATP players, goading me, asserting that Moore's reasoning was sound.
"I have had countless individuals, men and women alike, suggest to me that tennis skirts are the principle driver of revenue on the women's tour.
"From average, high-school-aged male tennis players challenging me to matches because they're sure they could never lose to a girl, to male coaches telling me, 'In women's tennis, you don't even have to be talented to succeed'."
Gibbs took part in a press conference at the Miami Open last month with long-time campaigners Billie Jean King and Chris Evert on the subject of equality.
The 23-year-old reached the third round before losing 6-1, 6-0 to fourth seed Garbine Muguruza.
Gibbs revealed she worried during the match about the message she was sending to critics of women's tennis.
She wrote: "This was a nightmare. By the time 6-1, 2-0 rolled around, I had taken on an even greater sense of despair.
"Here I had been arguing for equal pay for the WTA just earlier this week, and now I'm going to be used as a case-in-point example for the opposition's stance.
"I thought to myself, just please get games and make the match longer or more entertaining. Please don't give people another reason to call you or, more importantly, your sport, a joke.
"Billie Jean King tells me that I have a platform, so I plan to use it. Because I, for one, would love for my future daughter to fight for a game down 6-1, 2-0 because she hates getting bageled (losing a set to love), not because she's worried that a bagel might undermine her right to equality."
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