Aryna Sabalenka ‘Battle of the Sexes’ controversy resurfaced

The ‘War of the Sexes’ debate in tennis is always divisive and now Patrick McEnroe has made some interesting comments that will cause a stir.

With women’s and men’s players competing at the same level of tennis around the world every year, this is a sport that is hard to avoid comparisons to.

When statistics confirm top women’s players such as world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka hit more ground shots than top men’s players, it sparks debate about whether she can challenge the top men’s player.

However that idea was dismissed when Sabalenka was soundly beaten by a disqualified Nick Kyrgios in an exhibition event in December.

Now McEnroe, the younger brother of tennis legend John and former right-hander, has made the risky decision to join the debate.

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Speaking on Sirius XM, the 1989 French Open champion twice, was keen to suggest that the women’s and men’s games should not be compared, but gave a clear conclusion.

“I don’t want to get into it … it doesn’t matter to me because it’s a different game,” McEnroe said.

He went on to insist that he did not want to ‘underestimate’ women’s tennis, as he explained why the best female player in the world would be well beaten by the top guy.

“If you take the top-ranked player in the world, a top 17-year-old and challenge him against Sabalenka, they beat him 6-1, 6-1 or something,” he said.

But it’s also useless to me. I’m not saying that to belittle women. [tennis]I like women’s tennis. I will watch that if there is a bigger matchup than I will watch the men’s blowout match. It’s a completely different game.

And in tennis, for some reason, people don’t look at it the same way because they see Madison Keys or Sabalenka hit their hand a lot earlier. [Jannik] A sinner. No, they don’t hit it with the same spin and the organization is different. ”

McEnroe’s comments come after former world No 7 Barbara Schett spoke to Tennis365 about the Sabalenka vs Kyrgios match, as she struggled to contain her frustration at the exhibition tournament.

“I have spent 30 years telling everyone that men’s and women’s tennis are different, a woman cannot beat a man because of her body.

“They always complain, why do we get the same salary. I always tell them that we work hard too. We may not play the best of five (sets), but everything we put into tennis and everything we do in training is exactly the same.

Now we see the reaction and they say that he (Kyrgios) did not play at 100 per cent and he has no chance. Women’s tennis is then nailed. Mainly men look at women’s tennis and say this is a joke.

“You can’t compare a man’s body to a woman’s. It is what it is. If you watch it for entertainment and you know what’s going to happen and she doesn’t stand a chance, that’s fine. But don’t be surprised and say it’s absurd how weak and ugly women are, you can’t compare it.

“I haven’t watched it. I didn’t want to watch it. I knew what was going to happen. I knew Nick didn’t even have to play 100 percent to beat him easily. I have no interest in watching anything like that. It hurts me a lot.”

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Schett went on to say that the ‘Battle of the Male and Female’ theory does not need to be re-examined, as he considered his experience playing against men and includes the recent experience of playing against his husband, Joshua Eagle, who has been the first Grand Slam professional twice.

He added: “I remember when I was over ten and I was playing with 15 and 16-year-old boys. They were strong, tall and served very well.

“When I hit my husband now, I don’t have a chance, it’s just that, women’s bodies are different.

“Let’s respect men and women individually and just be respectful. I have to defend women’s sports, women’s tennis myself for 30 years, and I’m sick.”

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