Before the Paris Masters, Novak Djokovic attended the prestigious Ballon d’Or ceremony in the city. He presented the women’s award for the best female soccer player for the 2022-23 season. However, fans were not happy with Djokovic being chosen to hand over the trophy as his older comments against equal pay in tennis resurfaced. That was among the reasons fans did not approve of him being the presenter.
The ceremony was held on October 30 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. Djokovic mingled with David Beckham, Lionel Messi, and YouTuber IShowSpeed before presenting the 2023 Ballon d’Or Feminin award. He delivered a speech before announcing the winner, Spain and Barcelona Femeni superstar Aitana Bonmati, and giving her the iconic trophy.
Djokovic’s presence met with negative reception from fans on social media. People slammed the Serb being picked to announce and give the women’s award after his views on equal pay in tennis came back into public light. Many fans also questioned why a tennis player was brought in to present a soccer award. They accused the organising body of not caring enough about women’s soccer and getting any celebrity they could find.
One Reddit user joked they want Shaquille O’Neal to present the Ballon d’Or if anybody is allowed to.
Other fans brought up Djokovic’s older comments where he said men deserve more pay because they attract more viewership. They slammed the Ballon d’Or organizers, claiming someone with such beliefs should not be presenting women’s awards.
One X (formerly Twitter) user pointed out how the World No. started PTPA without any women players. Another said it would not have been that big a controversy if Roger Federer was invited instead.
Despite old comments echoed by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic now advocates equal pay
Novak Djokovic faced backlash in 2016 for suggesting male tennis players should be paid more because they get larger crowds. He said both men and women should fight for what they deserve, but the former ought to be ‘rewarded more’ since they attract more spectators (via ESPN).
Rival and Big 3 counterpart Rafael Nadal, too, had similar thoughts about equal pay in tennis. He gave the example of female models earning more than male because they get more attention. The Spaniard said likewise, men’s tennis attracts more people hence men justifiably make more money (via CBS Sports).
Federer, on the other hand, has been outspoken for equal wages on the WTA Tour. He said women player deserve larger paychecks and it made him happy to see it happening. He said men and women should co-operate for higher and equal pay (via Fox Sports).
Despite his earlier comments, Djokovic has since turned over a new leaf. He soon apologized for his comments from 2016 and only couple of years later, suggested men should take a pay cut to divert funds to the women’s game. He has since actively advocated equal pay in tennis multiple times.
The 24-time Majors winner believes equal prize money is ‘one of the pillars’ of equality. Djokovic may have held controversial opinions in the past, but he seems to have matured with the years and is a staunch players’ rights activist, which includes equal and better pay.
