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September 1, 2023
On Monday, tennis legend Billie Jean King celebrated the 50th anniversary of the US Open becoming the first sporting event to offer equal prize money to men and women. At the opening ceremony of the championships, she was honored with a tribute from former First Lady Michelle Obama for her rallying fight and triumph in 1972 for equal pay. The US Open and United States Tennis Association (USTA) have been celebrating the landmark through a range of activations and content.
79-year-old, King was the US Open champion in 1972 and rallied her fellow women players to threaten a boycott of the next year’s tournament unless women got the same pay as men. It was announced that summer that the women’s championship paycheck would increase and both men’s and women’s champions would each receive $25,000.
“While we celebrate today, our work is far from done. Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and you win it in every generation,” said King. It took 34 years for all the other Grand Slam tournaments to follow suit. This year, the US Open champions will each receive $3 million, with total player compensation rising to $65 million.
“Billie Jean teaches us that when things lie in the balance, we all have a choice to make,” Obama said. “We can either wait around and accept what we’re given. … or we can make our own stand. We can use whatever platforms we have to speak out and fight to protect the progress we’ve made, and level the playing field for all of our daughters and their daughters.”
The US Open and USTA kicked off its 50th anniversary celebratory campaign on Equal Pay Day in the US (March 14). For the next nine months, throughout the duration of the 2023 US Open and beyond, the campaign is highlighting the first sporting event in history to offer equal prize money for men and women competitors. The 50th anniversary of equal prize money is the theme for the 2023 US Open and equality is the focus of the US Open’s ongoing “Be Open” campaign. Now in its fourth year, the Be Open campaign emphasizes tennis’ commitment to diversity, inclusion and respect and encourages all tennis fans to embrace these ideals.
The multimedia campaign includes a multitude of content of inspiring storytelling, several significant events and more. A multi-dimensional history of equal prize money and the impact it’s had on sports is available on USOpen.org and affiliated social media channels. The series includes a series of “What Equality Means to Me” essays from successful women in a variety of fields and reflections from major markers of equality in tennis, complemented with historic video footage.
USTA has also teamed up with the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF), which was founded by King in 1974 to enable all girls and women to reach their potential in sport and life. WSF is supporting the campaign in a number of ways, such as lending expertise in advocacy and collective impact as well as its significant reach with athletes, leaders, entities and fans.
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