"Why Are Women's Player Cakes Smaller?" Madrid Open Gender Discrimination Controversy

Male and Female Athletes Sharing the Same Birthday
Given Cake Gifts but Different Sizes
Controversy Over Award Speech Opportunity and Bolgeol Costumes

The recently concluded tennis tournament, the Madrid Open, has been embroiled in a gender discrimination controversy. The organizing committee gave different sizes of birthday cakes depending on the players' gender.

On the 8th (local time) at the Mutua Madrid Open held in Madrid, Spain, Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) and Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) won the men's and women's singles titles, respectively.

Both players celebrated their birthdays on the 5th, with Alcaraz turning 20 and Sabalenka turning 25. In celebration, the Madrid Open organizing committee presented cakes to both of them.

Photo by Victoria Azarenka SNS. Birthday cake photo of Arina Sabalenka (left) and Carlos Alcaraz

However, Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), ranked 17th in women's tennis, shared a post on her social media comparing the sizes of the cakes the two players received, sarcastically saying, "Truly equal treatment." The photo showed Sabalenka holding a small single-tier cake, while Alcaraz was smiling in front of a large three-tier cake.

Bianca Andreescu (Canada), ranked 27th in women's tennis, also posted that "this doesn't seem right," criticizing the discriminatory treatment of the two players. However, some pointed out that Alcaraz is a star from Spain, where the Madrid Open was held, and that he was celebrating his 20th birthday, which should be taken into consideration.

The gender discrimination controversy sparked by the Madrid Open did not end with the cakes. Foreign media such as BBC and ESPN reported that allegations of discrimination against male and female players were raised multiple times during the tournament.

During the tournament, the four players who won and were runners-up in the women's doubles were unable to give any remarks at the awards ceremony. This contrasted with the men's doubles finalists, all of whom were given time to speak during the ceremony, sparking controversy.

BBC stated, "We requested an explanation from the organizers regarding this situation, but they responded that 'we will not comment on this issue.'"

There was also an issue related to the outfits worn by ball girls assigned to the courts for match proceedings. In particular, the ball girls assigned to men's matches held on the center court wore outfits that were excessively revealing.

BBC pointed out, "The ball boys and ball girls assigned to other courts wore loose polo shirts and long shorts," highlighting that only the ball girls at the center court matches wore provocative outfits.