It was a momentous milestone, brought about in no small part by an equally momentous champion, Billie Jean King. In 1973, the US Open became the first of the four Grand Slam tournaments to offer equal prize money to men and women competitors, a pioneering move that shook the sport and began to reshape it toward a more equitable future.
King, the US Open women’s champion in 1972, had received just $10,000 in winning that title, while the men’s champion, Ilie Nastase, pocketed $25,000. King was vocal in her displeasure with that pay disparity, hinting not-so-subtly at a US Open boycott in 1973 if the tournament continued to pay women less than men. To his credit, then-US Open Tournament Director Bill Talbert recognized the importance of a level playing field to the future of the US Open, as well as the importance of King and the fledgling women’s tour to the tournament’s long-term success. And with that, the 1973 US Open introduced equity, with men and women competitors each competing for total purses of $100,000, including a $25,000 payout to both the men’s and women’s singles champion. By giving the women financial parity with men in the early stages of the Open Era, the US Open was demonstrating unequivocally its belief that women players were as integral a part of the event as the men. For the time, that was no small statement.
It would be decades before the other Slams came around to writing similar checks for both sexes, but the US Open never backtracked from its pledge to pay equity. Fifty years later, that remains the case, and we celebrated the anniversary of this important US Open milestone fully and robustly, in a way that it deserves.
The battle for equity—in sport and in society—is an important one. It is a journey with no finish line, a pursuit that will always require an extra effort and a higher reach. Tennis has been fortunate to have had so many great champions who have likewise championed this important cause.
None of those champions have been more important than King, and no tournament has done more to lead than the US Open.
Explore USOpen.org's look back in the links below, reflecting how King's efforts 50 years ago have continued to shape the present.
Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Longtime tennis writer Joel Drucker took pen to paper to reflect on the state of play in the early 1970s, what prompted King to risk it all in the pursuit of equality for men and women, and how she and the USTA worked together to turn a dream into reality.
Throughout the spring and summer, USOpen.org featured a series of reflections titled "Milestones in Equality," to coincide with this anniversary. This series highlights other major markers of equality in tennis over the last five decades, each of which helped to nudge the sport forward toward the grand goal of a more level playing field for all.
The second of USOpen.org's cornerstone series celebrating 50 years of equal prize money at the US Open calls attention to how King has influenced the world outside of tennis.
"Champions of Equality" is a series of essays from successful women from various fields, detailing what equality means to them and how they've persevered to achieve success.
The celebration of a major milestone merits its own memorable imagery, and the 2023 US Open featured both, thanks to the striking design of this year's theme art, done by Brazilian illustrator Camila Pinheiro.
The art received rave reviews from King, its subject; she called it "just pefect" and "stunning" upon seeing it as a poster for the first time in April.
This March, the road towards awarding King one of the United States’ highest civilian honors began in earnest, with the introduction of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that, if successfully passed, will award her the Congressional Gold Medal. She also met with lawmakers in order to help raise awareness of a half-century of equal prize money.
The bill was later introduced in the Senate on the 50th anniversary of the "Battle of the Sexes" in September.
In addition to bi-partisan support at the bill's introduction, constituents across the U.S. can urge their own representatives to support it via a national action alert from the Women's Sports Foundation, a non-profit founded by King, which will connect them directly with those who speak for them in government.
King's influence, and that of the events that transpired in 1973, are still felt on the WTA Tour today. Australian Open finalists Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, "Break Point" star Paula Badosa, and American star Coco Gauff, were among the current crop of players to pay tribute to the iconic champion this year.
As the tournament unfolded, players weren’t the only ones to cite the significance of the moment and pay tribute to King. Former First Lady Michelle Obama, tournament emcee and host Blair Henley and ESPN tennis commentator Chris McKendry shared how King's message of equality has also made a difference in their own lives.
From Flushing Meadows to Wall Street, the celebration of equality rang out across all corners of New York City. Four of the USTA's female leaders joined President and Chairman of the Board Brain Hainline to ring the New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell: Nicole Kankam (Managing Director, Pro Tennis Marketing), Marisa Grimes (Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer), Kirsten Corio (Chief Commercial Officer) and Alexis Colvin, M.D. (Chief Medical Officer, US Open).
King herself also reflected on the past 50 years and the advancement of women in tennis under her watch.
Over the course of the three weeks of the tournament, it was apparent to all that women's tennis is evolving rapidly, and continues to lead the way toward leveling the playing field for all.
