In 1973, women made as much money as men at the US Open for the first time – thanks to Billie Jean King. Since then a lot has happened. But: 50 years later, the tennis world is still a two-class society financially.
The official poster of the US Open is usually a tribute to New York. Statue of Liberty, skyscrapers, Manhattan, plus tennis ball and tennis racket. This or something similar has been advertised for the Grand Slam tournament in Flushing Meadows for many years.
This time the organizers are making an exception. For good reason. They dedicate the poster of this US Open 2023 to a woman and her greatest achievement: Billie Jean King. “Celebrating 50 years of equal prize money” is written in black capital letters under the colorful likeness that shows the tennis trail blazer at a young age. And behind it the years: “1973 – 2023″.
Greatest triumph outside of the tennis court
King has won 12 singles Grand Slam titles during her career. But her greatest triumph, according to a documentary by the US Tennis Association, was “equal rights for women” been.
On Monday (08/28/2023) King spoke retrospectively about the summer of 1973 as one “Moment that changed our sport and all sport forever”. In black trousers and a purple top, the now 79-year-old stood on a red carpet at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was rolled out there especially for her.
Door Opener King
50 years ago, King opened doors that were previously closed, even hermetically sealed, to women – and which might have remained inaccessible for years or even decades without their commitment, their courage and their resilience. In a video clip, former and active players thanked “BJK” – from Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek, to Caroline Wozniacki, to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
The journey to equality has not been easy, nor has it been quick, King said. She emphasized that women “back then, on average, for every dollar the men received in prize money, 59 cents” received. And Michelle Obama, who gave a little celebratory speech for King, was reminiscent of Bobby Riggs.
misogynist Sayings and a humiliation
The three-time Grand Slam winner from the USA was considered a loudmouth and described himself as “Chauvinist” and in the early 1970s said phrases like: “Women belong in the bedroom and in the kitchen. In that order”. Or: “Women only play about 25 percent as well as men, so they should only get 25 percent of what men earn.”
With these provocative words he wanted to challenge King to a duel – and was successful. On September 20, 1973, the 29-year-old and the 55-year-old faced each other in the “Battle of the Sexes” in Houston. 48 million people watched the “battle of the sexes” on TV in the USA – and saw how King Riggs humiliated 6: 4, 6: 3, 6: 3.
Bluff or threat?
She was the loudest voice in women’s tennis in those years. When King received $10,000 in prize money for her victory at the US Open in 1972, but men’s champion Ilie Nastase received $25,000, she said decisively: “The hell with that. I don’t think we’ll be back next year.”
Nobody could quite place these words. Was it just a bluff? A flexing of the muscles? Or actually a threat? But King meant business. The fact that “Title IX” came into force on June 23, 1972 helped her. The law was passed by the US Congress. It prohibited publicly funded educational institutions from excluding people from educational programs because of their gender – and was thus a kind of catapult for a huge upsurge in women’s sports.
Breakthrough 1973
You have to dream and build something, King had often emphasized. Just dreaming without bringing anything up doesn’t work. And that’s why she went to tournament director Billy Talbert before the US Open in 1973 and said unequivocally: “Billy, we want equal prize money.” Talbert agreed. Because King had acquired sponsors who were willing to pay the difference of $15,000. And so the US Open champions in 1973 received a prize money of 25,000 dollars for women and men.
It was many years before the other three Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open (2001), French Open (2006) and Wimbledon (2007), paid women the same as men. She was thrilled, King said afterwards. And she made it clear that it was never just about the money, but about a signal.
Tennis world still two-tier society
This year, the winners of Flushing Meadows will each receive $3 million in prize money. According to the business magazine “Forbes”, seven of the ten best-paid female athletes in the world last year were tennis players. The list was led by Naomi Osaka ($51.1 million) and Serena Williams ($41.3 million) in first and second place respectively. A lot has happened in the past 50 years.
Nevertheless, the tennis world is still a two-class society financially in 2023. “Even today there are still too many tournaments that women have to pay fairly“, stressed Michelle Obama. King pointed out that “our work is far from over” be.
WTA wants to close the financial gap by 2033
Because “Equal Pay” only exists in the Grand Slams. For most of the season, women continue to earn less than men at joint events. For example, at the preparatory tournament for the US Open in Cincinnati, which is an event in the highest category below the Grand Slams, prize money of $6.6 million was distributed among the men, while the women played for $2.79 million.
At the end of June, the women’s tennis association WTA announced that it wanted to close the financial gaps in such tournaments from 2027. According to the announcement, this goal should be achieved for all tournaments by 2033 at the latest.