Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has announced she will be working at Wimbledon this year several months after hitting out at the BBC over gender pay.
The 61-year-old said in a tweet that she was “very happy” to reveal the news, adding that it was “good to see the BBC taking gender pay equality seriously”.
It comes after Navratilova spoke of her shock at discovering fellow Wimbledon pundit John McEnroe was paid at least 10 times more than her.
Very happy to announce I will be working at Wimbledon, it’s good to see the BBC taking gender pay equality seriously – see you in a few …
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) June 8, 2018
In an interview with Panorama in March, she said: “It was a shock because John McEnroe makes at least £150,000… I get about £15,000 for Wimbledon and unless John McEnroe’s doing a whole bunch of stuff outside of Wimbledon he’s getting at least 10 times as much money.
“(I’m) not happy… It’s shocking… It’s still the good old boys network…. The bottom line is that male voices are valued more than women’s voices.”
At the time, the BBC said the roles performed by McEnroe and Navratilova were “simply not comparable”, adding: “John and Martina perform different roles in the team, and John’s role is of a different scale, scope and time commitment… John’s pay reflects all of this – gender isn’t a factor.”
It is not clear whether Navratilova’s pay has now been increased, or what her earnings will be this year. The BBC says it does not comment on individual contracts.
Navratilova, who was crowned Wimbledon ladies’ champion nine times, previously said her agent would ask for more money in future.