The debate over the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ in tennis is always divisive and now Patrick McEnroe has served up some spicy comments that are bound to cause a stir.
With female and male players competing on the same tennis stages around the world every year, this is the one sport where comparisons are hard to avoid.
When statistics confirm top female players like world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka hit their ground shots harder than top male players, that sparks discussion over whether she could challenge a top male player.
Yet that theory was banished when Sabalenka was well beaten by a less-than-fit Nick Kyrgios in an exhibition event in December.
Now McEnroe, the younger brother of tennis legend John and a former top player in his own right, has taken the perilous decision to step into the discussion.
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Speaking on Sirius XM, the 1989 French Open doubles champion, was eager to suggest the women’s and men’s game should not be compared, but he then gave a clear verdict.
“I don’t want to get into it… it doesn’t matter to me because it’s just a different game,” stated McEnroe.
He went on to insist he didn’t want to ‘denigrate’ women’s tennis, as he explained why the best female player in the world would be well beaten by a top junior boy.
“If you took the top junior player in the world, the top 17 year-old and put him up against Sabalenka, they beat her 6-1, 6-1 or something,” he stated.
“But again to me it’s irrelevant. I don’t say that to denigrate women’s [tennis], I love women’s tennis. I’ll watch that if there’s a great matchup more than I’ll watch a men’s blowout match. It’s just a totally different game.
“And tennis, for some reason, people don’t look at it the same way because they see Madison Keys or Sabalenka hit their forehand as hard as [Jannik] Sinner. Well, they’re not hitting it with the same spin and the movement’s different.”
Patrick McEnroe
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 annoyance over the exhibition contest.
“I’ve been spending the last 30 years telling everyone that men’s tennis and women’s tennis are different. A woman cannot beat a guy because of the physicality. It’s just not possible.
“They always complain, why do we get the same amount of prize money. I always tell them we are working hard as well. We might not be playing best of five (sets), but everything we put into tennis and everything we do in training is exactly the same.
“Then we see the reaction and they say he (Kyrgios) didn’t even play at 100 per-cent and she has no chance. Women’s tennis is then crucified. Especially men look at women’s tennis and say this is ridiculous.
“You can’t compare the male and female body. That’s what it is. If you watch it for the entertainment and you know whats’ going to happen and that she doesn’t have a chance, that’s fine. But don’t be surprised and say it’s ridiculous how weak and bad women are. You just 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 that Nick didn’t even have to play at 100 per-cent to beat her pretty easy. I have no interest in watching anything like that. It hurts me, actually.”
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Schett went on to state the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ concept does not need to be explored again, as she reflected on her own experience playing against men and that includes recent experience playing against her husband, Joshua Eagle, who is a former Grand Slam doubles finalist.
“I remember when I was top ten and I was playing against 15 and 16-year-old boys. They were stronger, taller and they were serving really well,” she added.
“When I hit with my husband now, I have absolutely no chance. That’s just the way it is. The women’s body is just different.
“Let’s just cherish the men and the women individually and just be respectful. I’ve had to defend women’s sports, women’s tennis and myself for 30 years, and I’m sick of it.”
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