Why is Men's Tennis Better Than Women's?

It is automatically assumed most of the time that men's tennis is better than women's tennis.  I like them both but spend more time watching women's tennis.  So instead of telling my students the pros and cons of each when they normally don't care or ask.  I will explain it here for anyone who wants to know.  First is the men...then the women...then why I like to watch tennis in general.

1.  Men...are...Men

Some people would just rather see a well built man run and hit balls than a woman.  It is easier to market men because their success makes them attractive.  And the ones who are attractive enjoy the success of having more fans, thus they have more incentive to be successful.  If all of the sudden Ivo Karlovic with the biggest serve in the game and the world record for aces was ATTRACTIVE.  He would be winning things left and right.



2. Women...are...Women

Just like people like men being big and strong, they dislike women being big and strong.  It is hard to be stereotypically beautiful AND a strong warrior who wants to hurt tennis balls.  Some people would rather believe that Kirsten Dunst can be a tennis champion even though she probably cannot run or hit a ball.  Also women's tennis is usually sold in this manner.  Hopefully the cute girl can beat the big strong one.  It's fine if it works out like that, but it usually doesn't.


3.  Men Have More Variety

The men are naturally stronger up top.  Sorry, it is just that way.  Thus they can hit the ball faster and with more spin.  This opens up more possibilities for play.  Better angles to pull players out wide.  Better returns from being pulled out wide.  Topspin that turns into a weapon and not just a way to keep players off the baseline.  Nasty slices.  More aces.  One and two handed backhands.  The ladies game is WAY more physical than it was in the 80s.  But the amount of work men have to do to make it to the semis of a tourney is INSANE.

4.  You Can Route For Your Favorite

The way it is set up, your player can lose in the first or second round 70 times and still be in the main draw of the next slam.  The Challenger tournaments offer such little points that players would still have to qualify (pre tournament) for bigger tournaments.  By the time they get to the main draw, they have already played 4 matches.  So then they get big points but more importantly they have to impress enough to get a wildcard next time and not have to qualify and play with more energy.  It is very hard for middle level players to move up unless they are really popular.  So you can love a player until they are 50 yrs old because they will probably always be in the top 30 until they retire or get injured.  And even then, they will take wildcards from someone who needs them.  YAAAY.

5.  Amazing Doubles

Watching professional men play doubles is a pretty awesome sight to behold.  The amount of information a doubles player's brain processes needs to be studied (and probably has been).  The way they volley things coming at them at 80 mph looks a little too easy.

6.  Men Have Different Playing Styles

If you are trying to study strokes, men have the most made up strokes.  Women seem to follow a template, semi western forehand, eastern backhand.  That is why no one is trying to copy a woman's stroke.  I teach tennis and no one asks me to teach them Serena Williams' forehand.  Even Serena went to Pete Sampras to copy his serve.  Heck, most of the time a teacher says a stroke is wrong you can find a male player that makes a living off it.

7.  Men Have Better Outfits

Lets be real here.  The size and type of a pro tennis player man is pretty much the same.  The only question is whether the clothes are going to be tight or loose.  But for the women, the body shapes are all over the place.  They companies force the women to wear this outfit that looks great on one type of player and horrible on another.  As far as men are concerned it is just a shirt (maybe a polo) and some shorts and some sort of graffic.  The biggest move they made for guys was to cut the shirt so the shoulders look better and normal guys like me can hide their belly easier.

8.  Guys Have Better Grunts

Women started grunting like guys.  But where guys were using it for timing and power.  Women were using it for timing and intimidation.  As if the shrieks would make other people believe that you hit the ball harder than you actually did.

Those are the 7 reasons why I think men's pro tennis is better.  If you disagree, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise, be happy and keep training :)