Tennis star says male players deserve more cash than women

The world's No. 1 male tennis player has seemingly set up camp on the wrong side of the gender pay divide.

Speaking to the press after dominating yet another tennis tournament on Sunday night, Novak Djokovic lobbed himself into controversy over a tennis executive's claim that female players "ride on the coattails of the men" and so deserved to be paid less than their male counterparts.

Speaking on the "very delicate situation," Djokovic applauded female tennis players who "fought for what they deserve" but then added, regrettably, that men "should fight for more."

“I applaud them for that, I honestly do," said the 28-year-old star, who's won 11 of the sport's Grand Slams. "On the other hand I think that our men’s tennis world... should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis matches."

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The Serb added that as long as the data and stats say the men sell more tickets and attract more viewers, the money needed to be more fairly distributed.

Adding flame to the fire, Djokovic said that he had "tremendous respect for what women in global sport" due to the challenges they face because of their bodies, which "are much different to men’s bodies."

"They have to go through a lot of different things that we don’t have to go through," he said. "You know, the hormones and different stuff, we don’t need to go into details. Ladies know what I'm talking about."

"You know, the hormones and different stuff, we don’t need to go into details."

Djokovic was coached by a woman early in his career, and he also noted that women pros often delay or sacrifice having families to play professionally, something that the men of the sport don't face.

But the remarks, which some said were well-intentioned, economically valid, or taken out of context, caused a fury on social media among fans of the sport, including journalists and at least one UK politician.

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The initial remarks were made by the tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open, who also described women in tennis as "physically attractive and competitively attractive."

Raymond Moore, the 69-year-old former touring pro from South Africa who oversees the $7 million California tournament made his comments in a session with reporters before Sunday's finals.

They earned a rebuke from top-ranked Serena Williams, who said, "Those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate."

She called Moore's comments a disservice to Billie Jean King, one of the cofounders of the WTA Tour, female athletes and "every woman on this planet that has ever tried to stand up for what they believed in and being proud to be a woman."

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King herself later tweeted: "Disappointed in #RaymondMoore comments. He is wrong on so many levels. Every player, especially the top players, contribute to our success."

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Moore apologized for the remarks, saying they were in "poor taste and erroneous."

Djokovic hasn't spoken about the latest controversy.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.

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