I hold a team tourney where the women play agains the men. I give odds ( extra points) to the women and master players as it was obvious the first year that the women players could not compete on the same level as the men. I had two of the best womens doubles players in Canada (Cloutier and Drackett) winning the B event in men's doubles. They lost to me and my partner in second round. Skill wise there were our equal ( my case they were superior) - power wise the couldn't keep up. A few years ago I played the #3 women's singles player in Canada and damn near beat her - At the time I was a lumbering upper B singles player. Skill wise , she had me cold, but I kept her pinned at the back and she didn't have the power to put it past me. I'm all for having an "open" event. It's part of the reason why I did my tourney that way, but the results over the past 4 years make a pretty clear statement that male players have edge beacuse of, IMO, strength.
Honestly, women cannot even hope of competing against men. (I mean at the same level, eg. world's best men v world's best women.) It's just the vast difference in speed and power. And honestly, I don't think XXF can beat men's world number 500 (if he plays seriously). Look at all the sports in the world. Sports which do not emphasise speed and power that much are much more likely to see women competing on more equal footing.
