Ernests Gulbis Makes Controversial Statements About Female Tennis Players

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at Internationaled.org

Published: May 30, 2014

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Ernests Gulbis is arguably playing the best tennis of his career after reaching the fourth round of the 2014 French Open with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win over Radek Stepanek. But he's making headlines for his off-court comments.

According to Mike Dawes of the Daily Mail, Gulbis balked at the idea of his sisters possibly following in his footsteps and becoming professional tennis players. The No. 17-ranked Latvian star then controversially explained his reasoning.

Hopefully they will not pursue professional tennis careers. Hopefully. Because for a woman, it's tough. ... I wouldn't like my sisters to become professional tennis players. It's a tough choice of life. A woman needs to enjoy life a little bit more. Needs to think about family, needs to think about kids.


Only Gulbis knows the true meaning behind his words, but his comments have inevitably been perceived by some as sexist in nature.

A deluge of responses flooded Twitter in the wake of the interview, and opinions certainly varied.

Hannah Wilks of Live Tennis went the sarcastic route by taking a shot at the volatility that has plagued Gulbis over the course of his up-and-down career:



Jane McManus of ESPNNewYork.com suggested that pursuing a tennis career is actually a great way for women to prepare for family life:



The reaction wasn't totally negative, though, as Nicola Arzani of ATP attempted to rationalize Gulbis' statements:



While it is certainly possible that Gulbis was simply innocently referring to his sisters, he has to understand that gender equality remains a hot-button issue in tennis.



Female players have fought hard to gain equal pay and equal exposure, so his comments may very well end up striking a nerve within the tennis community.

His sisters don't appear to be taking his advice. His half-sister, Laura Gulbe, is 1...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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