Wonderful World of Tennis / Barry Millns / 02 April 2008 / 1

35 years after Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes", Tennis TV commentator Barry Millns looks at where the big differences between the men and women's game lie and wonders what would happen if such a match was replayed today

When tennis went 'Open' to professionals and amateurs 40 years ago women were still treated as second class citizens. Rod Laver won £2,000 for winning the men's singles title that year, whereas Billie Jean King earned only £750 for winning the women's equivalent.

It was only last year that Wimbledon finally relented and agreed to pay equal prize-money after decades of lobbying by King and other high-profile players, including Venus Williams. But, while not wishing to re-open that debate here, differences still exist between the men's and women's games.

The greater physical strength of men is an obvious starting point - Andy Roddick holds the world record for a fastest serve of 155 miles per hour in Davis Cup action, while the fastest serve recorded by a woman is one of 130 miles per hour struck by Brenda Schultz-McCarthy in a qualifying event in 2006. Last year Venus Williams hit the fastest recorded women's serve in a main draw event in the second round of the French Open.

So the extra pace of men's serves, with many able to hit them in excess of 130mph, places an extra emphasis on that shot. Men tend to serve many more aces than women as a result and they also need faster reactions to return them.

Greater power applied with the modern rackets means that rallies these days, both in men's and women's tennis, are played at a much greater speed than they were. That puts a greater emphasis on athleticism and fitness but currently I would say in general terms that there is more variety, touch and subtlety on view in the men's game, to go with the power, than there is in the women's.

There is no doubt that Venus Williams is supremely athletic, but I would say the reigning Wimbledon champion is still the exception rather than the rule and that the majority of female professionals rely primarily on heavy hitting from the back of the court to get the job done. Just look at the way her sister Serena, currently trading at [2.06] to retain the title in Miami, blasted world No.1 Justine Henin off the court in the quarterfinals.

There is still a perception that there is far greater depth in men's tennis than in women's where the first week of grand slams have tended to be a procession for top females. But interestingly in Miami only 19 of the women's 32 seeds won their opening matches compared to 18 of the men's, while at this year's Australian Open six men's seeds and six women's seeds fell at the first hurdle.

Best-of-five set tennis, by its very nature, is more demanding than best-of-three so in terms of physical stamina and mental strength the grand slams are far harder for the men than the women. But that is not to say that women are not capable of doing the same if they had to play best-of-five set matches, nor that they are not as competitive as men.

Back in 1973 Billie Jean King did a huge amount not just for women's tennis but for women's rights in general when she beat Bobby Riggs in three straight sets in their famous 'Battle of the Sexes' contest in the Houston Astrodome. It was watched by more than 30,000 people around the court and a US television audience of over 50 million!

Aged 55 at the time, the chauvinistic Riggs had claimed beforehand that he could beat any woman, that they were simply too weak. But after his 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 defeat he conceded that the 29 year-old King was "too good, too fast".

Having said that, it might well have been a different story had they both been the same age and it is difficult to know where the top ranked women might fit into the men's game today. A few years ago the German professional Karsten Braasch, with a windmill-like service action and a career-high ranking of No.38, took on the Williams sisters in individual sets, even smoking cigarettes during the changeovers - he beat Venus 6-1 and Serena 6-2.

Better then not to dwell on that but to reflect on King's comments following the death of Bobby Riggs in 1995. In reference to their famous match she said: "It helped a lot of people realize that everyone can have skills whether you are a man or woman... as well as helping men and women understand each other."

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1. siamak | 01 April 2012

   That is great.
   

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