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Andy Murray says gender equality in tennis is 'difficult'

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Andy Murray admits it is difficult to address equality in tennis with the ATP and WTA running separate Tours

Andy Murray says tennis does a "fantastic job" in terms of equal pay at major events, but concedes it is a difficult subject to address with the ATP and WTA running separate Tours.

Gender equality in tennis has been under the spotlight after Serena Williams accused umpire Carlos Ramos of sexism in her US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka.

The WTA went on to back Williams' claim that sexism played a role in the code violations she received, while 12-time Grand Slam winner Billie Jean King thanked the American for calling out a "double standard".

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British duo Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund discuss schedules, form and equality in tennis while getting a lift to a special training session

And speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, Murray said he wants his two young girls to have the same opportunities as men should they want to play the sport.

The Briton also pointed out that, while the ATP and WTA have their differences, the sport has done well to equal out the pay at Grand Slams.

"Tennis, in comparison to pretty much every other sport, and certainly global sports, tennis does a fantastic job in terms of equal pay at the major events," Murray said.

"It's not equal across the board in terms of all of the tournaments, but it's really difficult to get that when you have two different organisations.

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"For example, a tournament in Washington you can have the men and women playing, but it's a bigger event for the men than it is for the women - in terms of points.

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It's a battle of the Brits as Andy Murray takes on British No 1 Kyle Edmund in a series of challenges - including a keepy-uppy competition

"Then in Brisbane at the beginning of the year, for the men it's a small tournament, smaller prize money, and for the women it's a very big tournament on their Tour with lots of points and the prize money is bigger there."

"It's very difficult to get it perfect at every single event. I sometimes feel like it's viewed negatively in tennis rather than celebrated.

"It's good for the game. I have two young girls, I would want them - if they had the opportunity to play tennis - to have the opportunities to compete for the same as the men.

"I see it as a positive thing."

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Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Japan Open & China Open in October while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports.

Murray and Edmund were speaking as part of Jaguar's official vehicle partnership with Wimbledon. The exclusive interview took place in the latest F-PACE.

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