WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND (AP) - The new member of the ATP Player’s Council who caused a stir this week by saying men should be paid more than women at Grand Slam tournaments claims most of his male colleagues share his views.
The 13th-ranked Gilles Simon defended his views Thursday after losing in straight sets to Xavier Malisse at Wimbledon.
Simon says his fellow male players “can’t say it … maybe they will lose, I don’t know, $2 million on the contracts if they say that. In the conversations … I had in the locker room, for sure they agree with me.”
Top-ranked Maria Sharapova says Simon’s comments are a step back because “we women have fought so long to get equal prize money.”
All four Grand Slam tournaments pay equal prize money to men and women.
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