A League of Their Own: The Historical Grassroots of the WTA Tour
Posted by Paula Vergara on May 12, 2008 | Print | Email | Bookmark
1973 was an uncommon year. It was a year in which the letter W took on a life of its own.
The War was winding down, Watergate was winding up, and Wimbledon became the backdrop for a groundbreaking revolution in sports, involving the most under-rated W in tennis: Women. Change was on the horizon as an elite group of players, led by Billie Jean King, joined forces in a meeting at London’s Gloucester Hotel to obliterate inequality in tennis for good.
Soon after that meeting, the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) was formed. They committed themselves to making equal prize money, regardless of sex, a reality, and envisioned a better future for women’s tennis. Billie Jean King had a simple, yet powerful belief: “All you need is a racket, a ball and a dream.” Her natural ability to lead and influence change made her the clear choice to be the organization’s first president.
In the fall of 1973, in what was one of the most-viewed televised sporting events of the decade, King defeated former men’s champion Bobby Riggs in match known as the ‘Battle of the Sexes’. The match between the two former Wimbledon champs didn’t have much significance in the record books, but ignited a fire in the tennis world that positioned the formative women’s tour for future growth and equality.
A few years prior to this uprising in professional tennis, one could almost see that fire beginning to smolder, as nine top female players agreed to sign $1 contracts with World Tennis publisher Gladys Heldman, to compete in a new women’s tour.
The “Original Nine”, as the women were known, included Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Judy Dalton, Valerie Ziegenfuss, and Julie Heldman. The inaugural $7,500 Virginia Slims tournament was established in 1970, and is considered the event that put the wheels in motion for women’s equality in sports. Little did King know that the Virginia Slims slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby” would ultimately become a testament to her tireless journey for women and the sport.
The WTA became the governing body for professional women’s tennis, and remains so to this day—even establishing its own ranking system in 1975.
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour (as the Virginia Slims tour is now known) consists of the season-ending championships, four Grand Slam events, and 57 Tier events. The tiered events are divided into four categories based on prize money, with Tier 1 garnering the largest amount. The WTA also regulates the sport as a member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Female players get their start on the ITF Women’s Circuit at entry-level tournaments, enabling players to work their way up the ladder to Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events.
Almost 35 years after the revolt began, the WTA now has more than 1,400 players from 75 countries, competing in 62 events a year. Billie Jean King’s efforts were clearly not in vain.
With all four Grand Slams now offering equal prize money, and more than $62 million available on the WTA tour, King’s vision for a better future in women’s tennis has become a reality.
Nowadays, there is only one W left in the spotlight: Win.
Paula Vergara is an experienced tennis journalist, who has worked as a regular contributor to On the Baseline Tennis News, USTA New England Magazine, and New England Sports Magazine. To view her work, visit her blog at www.paula-vergara.blogspot.com.
This article is part of On the Baseline’s Tennis 101 series. Please click here to find the rest of the series.
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