French Open to offer equal prize money in 2006

The organizers of the French Open, one of tennis's four Grand Slam tournaments, have decided to offer equal prize money to men and women. That leaves Wimbledon as the only Grand Slam not offering equal prize money.

The argument made against offering equal prize money--that men play five sets and therefore work harder-- is flawed. One way to solve the problem is to have men play three sets, like they do at other tournaments, or have women play five sets. However, one can only presume that men play five sets because they are physically stronger, in which case five sets for them would be equivalent to three sets for women.

When the WTA was first formed by Billie Jean King and her colleagues, even the male tennis players who had befriended the top women players--men such as Arthur Ashe--were either totally dismissive of the notion of women having their own tour, or they were outright hostile. King and her cohorts made a huge personal sacrifice to establish women's tennis as a respected entity. Unfortunately, the tour is now relying on the sex appeal of its young players to promote the sport.