Inequality at Roland Garros.

I’ve been watching the French Open at Roland Garros for the past couple of weeks, and today is the Women’s Singles Final, it’s just about to start as I type this, the players have just come out onto court, and I’ve noticed a few things that trouble me. Some of these are things that I’ve noticed throughout the tournament but I’ve not paid attention to the ladies coming out for a match previously.

I don’t imagine this has anything to do with the players themselves, I’m sure they don’t ask for it, but for some reason, in an age where equality is something that is supposed to be being striven for in all walks of life, there is a disparity between how the men and the women are treated. I’m not talking about when it comes to the prize money, or the fact that the women play best of 3 whereas the men play best of 5.

What I am talking about is this, when the players are named, the men are referred to by either both names or their surnames only (Andy Murray or just Murray) but the women are referred to as Madam/Mademoiselle followed by their surname. In addition to that when they women came out onto court they were escorted by ball boys who held their hands, and preceded by ball boys/girls carrying a bouquet of flowers, neither of which happens with the male players.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for treating women with respect and courtesy, but I cannot understand why the women were shown such consideration when the men are not. Equality should mean equality, that doesn’t mean I think the women shouldn’t be treated as they have been, just that the men should be treated the same.