Women's Tennis Association facts for kids
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| Sport | Professional tennis |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | WTA |
| Founded | June 1973 |
| Location | St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
| President | Micky Lawler |
| Chairman |  Steve Simon |
| Official website | |
| Current season: 2024 WTA Tour | |
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the main group that organizes professional tennis for women. It runs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide tennis competition for women. The WTA was started to make a better future for women's tennis players. Its main office is in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the U.S. It also has offices in London, England, and Beijing, China.
The Women's Tennis Association was created in June 1973 by a famous tennis player named Billie Jean King. But its story really began earlier, in 1970. That year, a special tournament called the Virginia Slims tournament was held in Houston, Texas. It was organized by Gladys Heldman and sponsored by Joe Cullman. Rosie Casals won this very first event.
When the WTA started, Billie Jean King was one of nine players who formed the group. They were known as the "Original 9." These players included Julie Heldman, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Judy Dalton, Kristy Pigeon, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kerry Melville Reid, Nancy Richey, and Rosie Casals. Today, the WTA has more than 2,500 players from almost 100 countries. They compete for a lot of prize money, showing how much the sport has grown.
Contents
Early History of Women's Tennis
The "Open Era" in tennis began in 1968. This was when professional players could finally compete against amateur players. Before this, only amateurs could play in major tournaments. Billie Jean King was a top player in the late 1960s. She won many titles and was often interviewed.
At the first Open Wimbledon in 1968, there was a big difference in prize money. Men earned much more than women. For example, Billie Jean King won £750 for winning the women's title. But Rod Laver won £2,000 for winning the men's title. This unfair pay was a big problem for women players.
At the start of the Open Era, there were two main professional tennis tours. One was for men only, and the other was the National Tennis League (NTL). Billie Jean King, Ann Jones, Rosie Casals, and Françoise Dürr joined the NTL. They played in big tournaments like the US Open and Wimbledon. But they also organized their own events.
The pay gap between men and women grew even bigger by the 1970s. Billie Jean King said that everyone was making more money except the women. In some smaller tournaments, men earned five to twelve times more than women.
The Original 9 Players Take a Stand
The unfair pay reached a low point before the US Open in 1970. A tournament called the Pacific Southwest Championships announced that men would win 12 times more prize money than women. This made the top nine women tennis players decide to take a stand. These women became known as the "Original 9."
Instead of playing in the Los Angeles tournament, they decided to create their own tennis event. Several players contacted Gladys Heldman, who published World Tennis Magazine. Heldman helped them organize a tournament in Houston. This event took place after the US Open.
Heldman was friends with Joseph Cullman, the head of Philip Morris, a company that made cigarettes. Cullman agreed to sponsor the new tournament. The event was a big success. Because of this success, Philip Morris agreed to support a whole series of tournaments in 1971. This new series was called the Virginia Slims Circuit.
The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) started removing women's competitions from some tournaments. But the Virginia Slims Circuit grew. It eventually became the WTA Tour we know today. The first circuit had 19 tournaments, mostly in the United States, and offered a total of $309,100 in prize money.
Equal Prize Money for Women
In 1973, the US Open became the first major tennis tournament to give the same prize money to women and men. The Australian Open followed in 1985. However, it paid men more money again from 1996 to 2000 before returning to equal prize money in 2001. The French Open started offering equal prize money for champions in 2006. By 2007, both Wimbledon and the French Open also offered equal prize money. This meant all four Grand Slam tournaments paid men and women equally.
The WTA Tour also sold the TV rights for all its tournaments together. This helped women's tennis reach many people around the world. It helped make tennis popular beyond just fancy clubs, bringing it to public parks and big stadiums.
WTA Tour Development
The WTA was officially founded at a meeting organized by Billie Jean King in London. This happened a week before the 1973 Wimbledon Championships. In 1975, the WTA signed its first TV broadcast contract with CBS. This helped the WTA grow financially.
Over the years, different companies sponsored the WTA Tour. Colgate took over sponsorship in 1976. In 1979, Avon replaced Virginia Slims as the sponsor for the winter tournaments. Avon offered the largest prize fund for a single tournament at that time, $100,000 for the Avon Championships.
The Colgate Series and the Avon sponsored events eventually joined together in 1983. Virginia Slims returned to be the main sponsor of the WTA Tour. All tournaments under the WTA became part of the Virginia Slims World Championships Series. Virginia Slims sponsored women's tennis from 1970 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1994. Some people criticized this sponsorship because it linked cigarettes with healthy athletes.
In 1977, women's tennis was the first professional sport to allow transgender women to compete. This rule is still part of the WTA's official guidelines today.
In 1984, the Australian Open also started offering women equal prize money. After a 30-year effort, 2007 was a big year. Roland Garros (French Open) and Wimbledon finally offered equal prize money. This meant all four major tournaments paid men and women the same.
In 1995, the WTA Players Association and the Women's Tennis Council joined together to form the WTA Tour.
Growth Milestones for Players
The WTA tour kept growing over the years. In 1971, Billie Jean King became the first female athlete to earn over $100,000 in one year. Chris Evert was the first female athlete to win over $1,000,000 in her career earnings by 1976. By 1980, more than 250 women were playing tennis professionally. The tour had 47 events around the world, offering a total of $7.2 million in prize money. These growing financial chances helped women's sports in general.
Many players reached new earning milestones:
- In 1982, Martina Navratilova was the first to win over $1,000,000 in a single year.
- In 1984, Navratilova's earnings for one year went over $2,000,000.
- In 1997, Martina Hingis was the first to earn over $3,000,000 in a single year.
- In 2003, Kim Clijsters earned over $4,000,000 in one year.
- In 2007, Justine Henin earned over $5,000,000 in one year. She was the first woman in sports to do this. This was possible because the French Open and Wimbledon started offering equal prize money that year.
- In 2009, Serena Williams earned over $6,500,000 in a single year.
- In 2012, both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka earned over $7,000,000 in one season.
- In 2013, Serena Williams earned over $12,000,000 in a single year.
WTA Management and Leadership
Jerry Diamond was the executive director of the WTA from 1974 to 1985. He helped make important business deals with companies like Avon and Toyota. He also arranged the deal that made Virginia Slims the main sponsor of the WTA tour.
Larry Scott became the chairman and CEO of the WTA in 2003. He helped get the biggest sponsorship deal in women's sports history with Sony Ericsson. In 2009, Scott left the WTA for a new job.
Stacey Allaster, who was the Tour's president, became the new chairman and CEO in 2009. Forbes Magazine named her one of the "Most Powerful Women in Sports." She helped the WTA grow a lot and got a media deal that showed women's tennis to more fans worldwide. She also strongly supported gender equality. She retired in 2015.
On October 5, 2015, Steve Simon became the new WTA chairman and CEO. In December 2021, the WTA, led by Steve Simon, stopped its operations in China and Hong Kong. This was because of concerns about player safety. The boycott was lifted in 2023.
In March 2022, a medical technology company called Hologic became the main sponsor and "official health partner" of the WTA Tour.
WTA Tournaments Today
The WTA Tour has different levels of tournaments:
- WTA 1000 tournaments
- WTA 500 tournaments
- WTA 250 tournaments
- WTA 125 tournaments (about 30 events each year)
Players can also earn ranking points at tournaments organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). These are called the ITF Women's Circuit events. They have prize money ranging from $15,000 to $100,000.
Players' Council
The Players' Council is a group of eight players chosen from the tour. They work with the WTA board of directors. Their job is to speak for the players, handle their concerns, and discuss things like changes to the tennis schedule.
2023–2024 Players' Council Members:
- Top 20 Ranking: Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Garcia, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula
- 21–50 Ranking: Donna Vekić
- 51–100 Ranking: Daria Saville
- 21+ Ranking (Doubles): Gabriela Dabrowski
- 101+ Ranking: Aleksandra Krunić
WTA Rankings
The WTA keeps track of how well players are doing with its ranking system. These lists show the top players in singles and doubles tennis.
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Current tennis rankings |
Current tennis rankings |
See also
In Spanish: Asociación de Tenis Femenino para niños
- WTA Tour
- Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP, for men's tennis)
- List of tennis tournaments
- List of WTA number 1 ranked players
- Women's sports
- WTA Awards
- WTA Challenger Series
- WTA Tour Championships
- WTA Tour records
- Tennis Integrity Unit
- WTA rankings
Books
- King, Billie Jean, and Starr, Cynthia, We Have Come a Long Way, 1988, ISBN: 9780070346253
