WTA Legend Marks 52 Years of Opening Doors for Serena Williams, Coco Gauff and More

Picture this: it’s 1972, and ‘Title IX’ lights a flicker of hope for young girls in school gyms, but beyond those walls, the world still shuts out women in sport. Equal pay? A fantasy back then. Recognition? Even rarer. Then came Billie Jean King, a force with a racket and a revolution. In 1973, she not only demanded equal prize money at the US Open, but also shattered stereotypes by defeating Bobby Riggs in the legendary ‘Battle of the Sexes.’ Just a year later, she founded the Women’s Sports Foundation. Now, 52 years on, that foundation stands tall, making the path for icons like Serena Williams and rising stars Coco Gauff, carrying its legacy, still breaking barriers, still roaring forward in women’s tennis.

In 1973, Billie Jean King turned her lifelong dream into reality by founding the “Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)”, giving women’s tennis the global stage it so rightly deserved. As its 1st president, she led the charge for equality, carving out a space where female athletes could thrive. Born from the defiant spirit of the “Original 9”, eight fearless women and Billie Jean herself, who boldly signed $1 contracts to protest the prize money gap, the WTA rose from a modest meeting at London’s Gloucester Hotel, just one week before Wimbledon, with over 60 trailblazing players uniting for a single cause.

Today, the WTA stands as the powerhouse of women’s professional sport, governing the tour that spans the globe. And now, as we celebrate its 52nd anniversary, who better than the indomitable Billie Jean King herself, the firestarter, the visionary, the icon, to remind the world just how far women’s tennis has come.

Just a couple of hours ago, Billie Jean King took to her IG stories to mark a powerful milestone, the 52nd anniversary of the WTA. In her 1st post, she honored the roots of women’s professional tennis, recalling the iconic day it all began. “52 years ago today, on June 21, 1973, nearly 60 women tennis players met at the Gloucester Hotel to form what is now known as the @wta. Some of the founding members have passed on. Others are thankfully still here. I remain so grateful for all of their hard work, which made what we accomplished together possible,” she wrote.

In her 2nd story, King shared a photo from the 50th anniversary celebration at the very same Gloucester Hotel. The message was unambiguous: despite significant progress, the mission remains incomplete. “Building the foundation of women’s sports was not easy, but I am so glad I’m able to see how far we’ve come. And we’re not done yet! (Photo from 2023 50th anniversary trip back to the Gloucester)” she added.

But this rise wasn’t easy at all. Three years prior to the WTA’s formation, nine courageous women, tired of being treated unfairly, signed $1 contracts to take charge of their careers and establish the foundation for this movement. “It was a nightmare. It was really scary. I was really scared. But I kept thinking about the future. It’s very clear now, if you know the history, they’re living our dream,” King once recalled of that revolutionary leap.

She didn’t just fight for tennis, she fought for change. And because of her relentless pursuit of equal pay and respect, women’s tennis stands strong today, proud, powerful, and still pushing forward every day.

Billie Jean King championed equal pay in WTA tennis

To say Billie Jean King made an impact would be an understatement, as she lit the torch that still burns through the heart of the WTA. Her fight for equal pay wasn’t just noise: it was action. In 1972, she became the 1st female athlete to earn over $100,000 in a single year. 

But triumph quickly turned into outrage when she won the US Open and discovered her prize was $10,000, while the men’s champion took home $25,000. King didn’t hold back that time. At the press conference, she issued a bold ultimatum: if there was no equal prize money next year, the women wouldn’t return.

Back then, a US Open survey revealed something extraordinary: women’s matches were drawing more attention than anyone expected. Still, popularity meant little if the pay didn’t match isn’t it? So King took matters into her own hands. She scouted for sponsors and found an ally in ‘Bristol Myers Squibb’. The company covered the $15,000 gap, forcing the US Tennis Association to step up.

The result? The 1973 US Open became the 1st sporting event in history to offer equal prize money for men and women, an earth-shaking moment in sports.

The impact snowballed as well. By 1976, Chris Evert had become the 1st female athlete to cross $1 million in career earnings. By 1980, over 250 women competed professionally across 47 events with $7.2 million in prize money. In 1986, Martina Navratilova broke new ground, becoming the first tennis pro to earn over $10 million in her career.

Fast forward to today, more than 2,500 women from nearly 100 countries play under the WTA banner, competing for a record $139 million. 

And as the WTA celebrates its 52nd year, one truth remains carved in stone: “Billie Jean King will forever be the queen of the throne she built with her bare hands.”