How does progress happen? Is it strictly due to the actions of the ambitious, who inspire and collaborate to bring tidal wave-like advancements? Or is change more like a river, an organic, subtle flow, propelled by various social forces beyond the control of any single individual or group?
When you look at what happened in women’s tennis 50 years ago, both facets came into play. The major changes that took place—most notably, when the 1973 US Open became tennis’ first Grand Slam event to offer equal prize money—represented a tremendous convergence of personality and persistence, all taking place amid vast changes in society. And certainly, no one ever has more perfectly personified “personality and persistence” than the singular champion, Billie Jean King.
The late ‘60s and early ‘70s had seen the rise of the women’s liberation movement. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in 1966. There came many steps forward, ranging from public protests to private assertions. “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men,” said Gloria Steinem, who founded Ms. Magazine in 1971. The next year marked the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and the quest to have it ratified by state legislatures. Another major piece of legislation that hit America in 1972: Title IX, which ended gender discrimination in federally-funded institutions, triggering the growth of women’s collegiate sports.
The Birth & Growth of “Women’s Lob”
Thanks to the determination and skill of several risk-takers, led by King and World Tennis magazine founder-publisher Gladys Heldman, tennis too marched in lockstep with this growing consciousness. In the fall of 1970, dismayed by a wide gap in prize money being offered at a tournament in Los Angeles, Heldman created the Virginia Slims Invitational. This was the inaugural tournament of what rapidly blossomed into the first full-fledged women’s professional tour, also kindly referred to as “Women’s Lob.”
But there was no joke about this startup tour’s perils. Nine women, later dubbed “The Original Nine,” had signed up to play Heldman’s first event. Others soon joined the new circuit. All were threatened with suspensions from their national associations that held the potential to bar them from competing at the Grand Slam tournaments and other forms of competition. Despite that treacherous political climate, as the Virginia Slims Circuit got underway in the early ‘70s, there was no denying that women’s pro tennis was becoming quite popular. And as the tour’s leading player, no one proved this more emphatically than King.
In 1971, King had become the first women’s professional athlete to win $100,000 in prize money in a calendar year, this at a time when only five baseball players earned more. The next year, upon winning the US Open singles title, King shared her views about compensation with the Open’s tournament director Bill Talbert—and the world. In 1972, first prize for the women’s champion was $10,000 – well less than the $25,000 awarded to men’s winner Ilie Nastase. As King recalled in her 1988 book, We Have Come A Long Way, “I gave an ultimatum in an interview with the press: ‘If it isn’t equal next year, I won’t play, and I don’t think the other women will either.’ Talbert took the cue.”
And so did Talbert’s colleagues at the USLTA (as the USTA was known then). Not willing to embrace the Virginia Slims Circuit, but at the same time keen to capitalize on increasing public interest in women’s tennis, the USLTA had created its own series of tournaments. Much to the chagrin of Heldman and King, two of tennis’ rising stars, Evonne Goolagong and Chrissie Evert, had opted to play the USLTA tour. Yet for all the discord between these two organizations, behind the scenes, steps were being taken to find harmony.
Meanwhile, as women’s tennis players gained wealth and fame, a former world No. 1 wanted in on the action. Bobby Riggs, a former singles titlist at both Wimbledon and the US Championships was eager to once again be in the spotlight. Now 55, Riggs had a plan: Challenge the world’s best women’s tennis players. King, focused on making the women’s tour a success, initially declined Riggs’ offer. But her greatest rival, Margaret Court, jumped at the opportunity to earn $10,000 to play a single match versus an opponent she figured would be easy to beat. Court dominated women’s tennis in ’73, a year highlighted by her winning three of the majors and more than $200,000 in prize money.
Matches vs. Riggs Raise the Profile
The Riggs match, though, was an altogether different story. Dubbed “The Mother’s Day Massacre,” it opened with Riggs handing Court a bouquet of flowers, a tactic he deployed to disarm her. One of the most astute strategists in tennis history, Riggs had concocted a perfect game plan, based on subtle variations of speed, spin, and placement. Thoroughly flummoxed by everything from Riggs’ airtight game to the circus-like atmosphere, Court stumbled into one error after another and was beaten 6-2, 6-1. Said Court, “It was as though I was on the court and I was off the court, and that was it. I thought, did I ever really play?” than the men’s champion, in this instance, 3,000 pounds for winning the singles, compared to the 5,000 awarded to men’s champion Jan Kodes.
That same day, King and several other Virginia Slims Circuit competitors were on their way back from Tokyo – the first time a retinue of professional women had ever competed in Japan. Stopping in Honolulu, all sprinted to a group of coin-operated televisions to find out how the match was going. Soon enough, King’s longstanding doubles partner, top tenner Rosie Casals, learned the final score. As the anguished players took in what had happened, King said this: “Now, I’m going to have to play him.”
Plans shortly commenced for “The Battle of the Sexes,” a nationally televised match between King and Riggs, set to take place in Houston at one of that era’s most iconic venues, The Astrodome. In that match, played before a capacity in-person crowd and a global television audience of more than 90 million viewers, King defeated Riggs in three straight sets, her win a resounding triumph, not just for women’s tennis, but for the global women’s movement as well. It may have only been an exhibition match, but King knew it was a match she had to win. "I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn't win that match,” King said years later in reflection. “It would ruin the women's tour and affect all women's self-esteem."
The Creation of the WTA
But as important as that win was, in the world of women’s tennis, one-off exhibitions paled when compared to far greater issues. With Heldman as the business and political leader and King as the star player and also playing the role of social activist, the women had created an entity so viable that many sponsors, promoters, officials, cities, venues, and management firms were all vying to capitalize on its success. Amid so many warring and overlapping factions, how could the players continue to have a voice? So it was that just prior to Wimbledon, on June 21, 1973, inside a London hotel conference room, the Women’s Tennis Association was formed. “The WTA represents a new beginning, free from disputes and the bad feelings that have been boiling over for years,” wrote one of the “Original Nine,” Julie Heldman, in her book, Driven.
Another twist that happened at Wimbledon also greatly aided the cause of women’s tennis. That year, the newly formed men’s association, the ATP, took a stand on behalf of one its players, Nikki Pilic, and boycotted Wimbledon. With 81 of the top men in the world absent from the All England Club that year, the women commanded more attention than usual. The four top seeds – a fabulous quartet of Court, King, Goolagong, Evert – all reached the semis. In the end, amid various meetings and more, King took all three titles. But as was the case at all the majors, she earned far less.
The Quest for Equal Prize Money
Questions continued. What about the conflict between Virginia Slims and USLTA? How would all the publicity generated by the upcoming “Battle of the Sexes” affect women’s tennis? What was to come at the US Open? Would the women follow through on King’s comment to Talbert and boycott the tournament?
Many answers followed. The Virginia Slims Circuit and the USLTA resolved their differences, agreeing to operate one unified tour starting in 1974. In his own humorous way, Riggs helped to raise the profile of women’s tennis. Heldman and King led the charge to find more sponsors, including one for the US Open. Back in the ‘60s, Heldman had built a strong relationship with Joe Cullman, CEO of Philip Morris, the company that had created the Virginia Slims brand. The two often socialized at the Century Country Club, located north of New York City. One of their fellow members was Dick Gelb, CEO of Bristol Meyers.
And then came a momentous decision. On July 19, 1973, Ban deodorant, a subsidiary of Bristol Meyers, announced it would donate $55,000 in prize money, boosting the total women’s purse to $95,200 – the same amount as the men. A New York Times article written then quoted Joseph G. Kelnberger, a Bristol Myers vice president: “We feel that the women’s game is equally as exciting and entertaining as the men’s, and we hope that our direct involvement with the 1973 US Open clearly indicates our position on behalf of women in sports.”
With that, King and her colleagues never had to follow through on the promise of boycotting the 1973 US Open. Margaret Court won the women’s singles title that year, earning the same $25,000 as men’s champion John Newcombe. In 1974, King captured the last of her four U.S. Championships/US Open singles titles, and by 1983, a decade after the establishment of equal prize money at the Open, first prize was $120,000. Last year, singles titlists Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz each took home a whopping $2.6 million.
From the 1970s onward, tennis has been the most rewarding women’s professional sport, with King’s irrepressible talent and tenacity playing a leading role in making that a reality. This year marks the 50th anniversary of equal prize money at the US Open, a milestone made possible by the leadership of King and the support of other courageous pioneers who would never accept anything less than an equal playing field for all.
