Konta insists women’s tennis ‘kicked arse’ in 2017

As a new generation of young players strives to fill the space vacated by Serena Williams, British No 1 Johanna Konta has suggested that women’s tennis deserves more credit and attention.

Konta was knocked out of Wuhan in her opening match this week by Ashleigh Barty, the world No 37, who has gone on to defeat former US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova in a run to the semi-finals.

“No one in the business ever thought much about shirt length” “No one in the business ever thought much about shirt length” New York TImes Konta also suggested that it was time to stop looking at tennis results through the lens of gender, using her memorable Wimbledon quarter-final against Simona Halep as an example.

“It’s important to acknowledge the great qualities of both men and women in sport and not segregate them, because you will find very similar qualities in Serena Williams and Roger Federer,” Konta added.