Raymond Moore has stepped down as chief executive officer and tournament director of the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open following comments he made about women’s tennis in a move welcomed by the women’s tour.

Moore provoked outrage at the weekend when he said top-level women’s players rode “on the coat-tails of the men” and were “very, very lucky” to have equal prize money.

The tennis world reacted strongly as world number one Serena Williams and all-time great Martina Navratilova rebuffed the statements and the ATP men’s tour formally denounced them.

Tournament owner Larry Ellison revealed the departure with a statement that both announced Moore’s resignation and championed the sport’s efforts toward equality.

“Nearly half a century ago, Billie Jean King began her historic campaign for the equal treatment of women in tennis,” Ellison said.

“What followed is an ongoing, multi-generational, progressive movement to treat women and men in sports equally.

“I’m proud to say that it is now a decade long tradition at our tournament at Indian Wells, and all the major tennis tournaments, to pay equal prize money to both the women and the men.”

Among his comments, the 69-year-old Moore, a South African, also highlighted Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and Spaniard Garbine Muguruza as being among the “very attractive prospects” on the WTA circuit, before explaining that they were “physically attractive and competitively attractive”.

“If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport,” he said.

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