Eighty-four percent of the spots on the Forbes-produced list during the past decade have gone to 22 women’s tennis stars, and the top earner each year was a tennis player. The Houston group’s risk has helped inspire countless women to take a chance, to stand up for themselves, in the five decades since. [8] In 1973, he opined that the female game was inferior and that even at his current age of 55 he could still beat any of the top female players. Even with the odds stacked against you, the nine of you had enough faith in yourselves and each other to sign $1 contracts with magazine publisher Gladys Heldman, another trailblazing woman in her own right, to compete in a tournament where the risk was losing your tennis careers. Did Bobby Riggs throw the match against Billie Jean King? Connors called the match 'war'. Yet through it all, her crusade against inequality in all forms never waned, and she continued to receive recognition for her many contributions to both tennis and the fight for parity. Jane Brown Grimes, longtime tennis executive: The real risk was going up against the establishment, the USTA, Tennis Australia, the Lawn Tennis Association and most of all the ITF. Billie Jean King, Original 9 member: Larry [King, her former husband] says, “If you go pro, the men will get rid of you.” And I said, “No they won’t, they’re my friends.” He goes, “Billie, I am telling you the men will think you don’t deserve it. McEnroe said that he believed he could defeat Williams in a tennis match. We had no money. Pigeon: Gladys got to work. They signed Heldman’s symbolic $1 contracts, a move that established the first women’s professional tennis tournament. Yet when she won the U.S. Open in 1972, she received $15,000 less than the men’s champion, Ilie Năstase. I was at this rural college in Florida and giving young women the opportunity to get an education. [6] King's win is considered a milestone in public acceptance of women's tennis. The 2020 Finals for both tournaments were scrapped this year because of the pandemic, although qualifying nations will maintain their places for the 2021 Finals. Connors, too, was nervous and there was a rumor that he had placed a bet on himself to win at 4:1. Bangladesh students invited to Study Australia Video Competition, JCI Dhaka East holds webinar on women leadership, DNCC Mayor: All parks to be squatter-free, drives from Oct 3, ED: Ensuring food security through agriculture, Writ filed in India seeking export of onions, Two Indians held for intrusion in Chuadanga, ACC seeks bank information of Sunamganj 1 MP Ratan, wife, Please read our Comment Policy before posting. As much as I liked Larry, it was a no-brainer to side with Gladys. "First, it was a doubles match, not a one-on-one competition. Bartkowicz: We were most concerned with the situation in tennis, obviously, but at the same time we felt change had to happen in other areas of society, too. Nowadays, we have more tools at our disposal, such as social media, to aid in our advocacy for what we believe in. Pigeon: Gladys had the ability to pull it together. He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[59] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much easier and put spin on the ball that female players can't handle. [Gladys] was brilliant, highly energetic, very accomplished as a promoter, had the biggest Rolodex in tennis, focused on her magazine, and had this steel backbone and was able to move mountains. At this point, King realized that she "had to win" given the importance of the match,[26] and broke right back and again in the tenth game to close out the set. With your experiences as an example, the next generation - my generation - of young women is taking charge, using our platforms to speak out for what we believe in and putting it all on the line, regardless of what the outcome or reaction will be. I had done well in the Pacific Southwest, but, you know, I didn’t want to support that event anymore. I remember because I got to the final. In 1973, at the height of her competitive years, Billie Jean leveraged her position to spearhead the formation of the Women’s Tennis Association and became its first president. 1 female player in the world. [5] Riggs followed in a rickshaw drawn by a bevy of models. [29], The match had an audience of an estimated 50 million in the U.S. and 90 million worldwide. The influential and connected publisher of World Tennis Magazine, who passed away in 2003, took on the issue of discrimination against women’s tennis players beginning in 1970. [57][56] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[58] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. Peachy Kellmeyer, longtime WTA executive: I think what those nine women did was they inspired others and I was one of them. and got the winner's cheque - I know that it is thanks in no small part to you and your incredible bravery that I received the same amount as the men's champion. Older than the combined ages of Navratilova and Shriver, Riggs was painfully out of place in this match. Find your nearest court and learn the basics with our guide. It was a different time. I think that’s why a lot of us felt we had good legs to stand on — she was a top player, and she was powerful. We didn’t see anything changing with the existing men’s and women’s tour, so this was really the obvious move that we felt was good for us, but also the future of women’s tennis. I told her, though, I was really excited. Li was given a 30–0 advantage at the start of each service game, and she went on to win 3–2. Before the match, however, King had forced the American television network ABC to drop Kramer as a commentator. Billie Jean King helped build the foundation for women’s sports today. Your goals were clear: That any girl from anywhere would have a place to compete. So, we signed our $1 contract with her. The sports writer went on to point out that there were things keeping this match from being seriously viewed as a legitimate challenge. In the annual list of top-paid female athletes in the world, women’s tennis players have dominated the rankings since 2010. It was like one-tenth. Accessed March 29, 2015. 3 Digit Card Verification Number on the back of card. American tennis legend Billie Jean King wants to have her cake and eat it too. The shift in culture and media towards providing athletes and celebrities with a global platform has allowed for meaningful conversations centred around the need for change and equality that otherwise might not have been possible. [32] She said later, "I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn't win that match. PBS. Billie Jean and Ilana remain close friends with Larry and his family. If the Houston one was a success, Philip Morris said they would give money for the next year for tournaments, so we had to A), vote on who was going to run the thing, and then Gladys said we had to sign something to say we had a contract with her, and she just said, “Oh, let’s just do it for a dollar.” We all signed the dollars. Kristy Pigeon, Original 9 member: Both entities, meaning us and Philip Morris, were presenting a strong, aggressive, successful woman that was going to speak her own mind and do what she wanted to do, and that was a first for the time. [48] Phil Neer won the NCAA men's singles title in 1921 and in 1932–1933 won the doubles event at the Pacific Coast Championships. Today’s top-paid female athletes can thank the Original 9, a pioneering group of nine tennis players who made history 50 years ago this month: Billie Jean King plus Peaches Bartkowicz, Rosie Casals, Judy Dalton, Julie Heldman, Kristy Pigeon, Kerry Melville Reid, Nancy Richey and Valerie Ziegenfuss along with 10th contributor Gladys Heldman, their shrewd and savvy organizer. Dalton: When we decided to do the tournament in Houston, in order for us to do it we had to, in theory, become professionals. This FAQ is empty. The following year, Billie Jean went on to co-found the inclusive World TeamTennis co-ed circuit and started the Women’s Sports Foundation, dedicated to creating leaders by providing girls access to sports. "[33] She believed that she had a destiny to work for sexual equality in sports. Only Nancy RIchey is facing photographer Bela Ugrin, who actually took the famous money shot. I went to the phone because I thought I should be courteous to him and said “We’re going to sign $1 contracts with Gladys.” He said don’t do it. The term is most famously used for an internationally televised match in 1973 held at the Houston Astrodome between 55 year-old Bobby Riggs and 29 year-old Billie Jean King,[4] which King won in three sets. I had asked him a couple of times, “Would you do a women’s tour? I would never take anything away from Billie Jean—because she was smart enough to prepare herself properly—but it might have been different if Riggs hadn't kept running around. The 2020 Finals for both tournaments were scrapped this year because of the pandemic, although qualifying nations will maintain their places for the 2021 Finals. [56] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". After quickly failing from the baseline, where he had intended to play, Riggs dropped his comedic effect and showed a more serious demeanor, as he was forced to change to a serve-and-volley game. Susan took her to a country club, where Billie Jean played for the first time. We have no tour.” Gladys was great, I wanted her, we wanted her, but she kept saying no. NEW YORK — Serena Williams could send a thank-you note to Billie Jean King and eight other players who signed $1 contracts to launch a new women's pro tennis circuit 50 years ago. I beat Billie Jean on the way. The global nature of the WTA has only increased and of course prize money is at $180 million now. Edward Chandler had won the NCAA men's singles title in 1925 and 1926, played Davis Cup, and was ranked as high as No. [31] On August 25, 2013, ESPN's Outside the Lines featured a man who had been silent for 40 years. You’ve got to do this because you really want to do it for the future generations, and everyone said, “Great, let’s go.”. What we saw Naomi Osaka do a couple of weeks ago, when she decided not to play a match, powerful speech at a Black Lives Matter protest, Listen to unique tracks from Stormzy, Miley and Biffy Clyro. 1 professional tennis player.King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. 5 in the United States. I'm so grateful to all those who made the Houston event a success and and in thanks to that, we saw the launch of the first fully-fledged circuit for women in 1971 and eventually the founding of the WTA at a meeting of more than 60 players in London, just before Wimbledon in 1973. [Later] they really put up a lot of money for PR, promotion, staffing, they sort of created a model for what you can do as a sports sponsor. The blowback from the establishment was immediate. Because we’re losing out.” And he said no. She was meeting with the players down in the basement room and she was supposed to come up and make the announcement. It was directed by James Erskine and Zara Hayes. As much as I liked Larry, it was a no-brainer to side with Gladys. United Kingdom, 2013. Billie, when I was lucky enough to meet you last year, I asked you what your greatest achievement was and you replied: "Creating equal prize money in women's tennis." The girls were actually looking at him and his photo went nowhere. Bela Ugrin/Courtesy Houston Public Library. The match was viewed by an estimated fifty million people in the United States and ninety million worldwide. I promise we won’t sign the contract.” He said, “No, we’re not going to start a tour and you’ll be suspended when you do.” I ran around the side and everybody was in line and either Nancy or Valerie had the $1 bill and they handed it to me and here’s where you’re going to stand.