Billie Jean King, the trailblazing tennis icon, has always been a vocal advocate for gender equality and social change. As she reminisces the moment she created history 50 years ago alongside her Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) peers, her passion for the sport and her drive to empower female athletes are still palpable.

In 1970, King, along with eight other trailblazing female tennis players, collectively known as the “Original 9,” took a stand against gender discrimination in tennis. At the time, women were paid a fraction of the prize money awarded to their male counterparts, and their opportunities to compete in prestigious tournaments were severely limited. The disparity was glaring, and that is when she decided to create WTA. On the 21 of June, in an interview with Sports Talk on Prime, she disclosed how everything went down when she revealed her idea of creating a union.

Billie Jean King talks about the day she founded WTA 50 years ago

As King celebrates the WTA’s golden anniversary, she talks about how she came up with the idea of creating a union in women’s tennis along with her peers. In an interview with Rennae Stubbs, she recalls everything she can remember for the day.

King said, “We started this in 1970 in a room. When I woke up this morning, I had a smile on my face thinking wow we did it 50 years ago. I mean I can’t believe it. It took so much work, so many years. I always wanted the men and women to be together. But the men kept rejecting us. It was killing me.”

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She also added how she wanted the greatest players to gather together and come up with a decision. Before she even got into the room where the meeting for the decision was supposed to happen, she told the media, “We are going to start a union”. However, she further added that the media didn’t care much. They did not take her seriously.

She further added how she felt after the association came through. “I was so happy, so relieved”. She also shared that when she woke up on the day of the 50-year anniversary, she had the same kind of smile and satisfaction.

A few days after the foundation of WTA, Billie Jean King brought home 3 Grand Slam titles

In the same year, 1970, just after Billie was busy getting the association up and running for women’s tennis, she also managed to win the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles at the Wimbledon Championship 1970.

Amidst all the work that she was putting into the association, she also managed to win three titles which shows the kind of remarkable skill set she possessed and still does. The formation of the WTA by Billie Jean King and her peers 50 years ago was a monumental moment in the history of women’s tennis and the broader fight for gender equality. But even so, her win in the same year with 3 Grand Slam titles created history and opened paths for women that no one expected at the time.

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