Female tennis coaches in Hungary: far from elite tennis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v32i93.552Keywords:
Gender, women's tennis, coaches, gender equity and equality valuesAbstract
In the coaching profession, women’s proportion is much lower than men’s, and the multitude of reasons behind it have been analysed by numerous scientific and professional forums. In the Hungarian context, research has paid relatively little attention to this area, although this is where male dominance is the most prevalent. This is also true for tennis, even if on the international stage, this is the sport where the struggle for the equal recognition of women began, and at present, ITF and WTA are actively engaged in promoting more balanced gender relations. In the Hungarian Tennis Federation (HTF), a Women’s Committee was founded in 2020, and has been working towards the promotion of female competitors, managers and coaches as well, aiming to increase the number of women and to promote their opportunities and progress. Our paper presents the results of an empirical research, including (1) an online survey, carried out among 94 women, working as tennis coaches, with a focus on their professional progress, prestige and financial remuneration, and (2) semi-structured in-depth interviews with top competitors, club managers and the president of the Women’s Committee. The results show that female coaches mainly work in leisure and youth tennis, on the level of elite tennis it is uncharacteristic to find a female coach. When compared with men, they mainly sense a disadvantage with regards to prestige, not financial remuneration, which can be explained with existing negative stereotypes concerning their professional competence.
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