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LOS ANGELES. — Indian Wells tennis tournament director Raymond Moore quit under heavy fire after he said women players owe their success to men, sparking a furious gender row that has divided the sport.

Moore stepped down as a backlash led by Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova gathered pace, following his comments that women in tennis “ride on the coat-tails of the men”. “Ray let me know that he has decided to step down from his roles as CEO and tournament director effective immediately,” the event’s owner, software billionaire Larry Ellison, said on the tournament website.

Moore, a 69-year-old former player from South Africa, had earlier apologised for his “extremely poor taste and erroneous” remarks about the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

But despite his resignation, the controversy looks set to rumble on after Novak Djokovic, the men’s world number one, said male players deserved more prize money than the women. — AFP.