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Why Do Most Female Tennis Players Have Male Coaches?
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Why Do Most Female Tennis Players Have Male Coaches?

As Americans decide if they are ready to elect their first female President, I had to ask, do female tennis players not trust women? Why do all the top players hire male coaches?

It’s election time in the United States, and many are asking if Americans trust a woman to lead this country. Meanwhile, the WTA Finals are in Saudi Arabia, where women’s rights are a hot topic. The WTA Finals feature the top female tennis players, and none of them have female coaches. 

It’s a strange contradiction, isn’t it? Tennis is arguably one of the few sports where women earn as much as men in Major tournaments, where the top players are household names, and where the WTA has been a driving force in promoting gender equality in sports. And yet, here we are in 2024, with a glaring imbalance in coaching. Most top players are coached by men, and very few women have broken into the upper echelon of coaching on the tour.

Since the U.S. Open, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka have all hired new coaches. None of their coaches are women. In fact, none of the players in the Finals have a female coach. 

Why?

I explore this question in the latest Courtside Coffee Podcast.

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Courtside Coffee
Courtside Coffee Podcast
The Courtside Coffee Podcast kicks off conversations about tennis news and views. The podcast host, Merlisa Lawrence Corbet, is an award-winning journalist and author whose work has appeared in USA Today, The Guardian, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, and Essence.