The Rise of Women's Tennis and its Contribution to the Women and Sport Movement

Billie Jean King
Founder, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Women's Sports Foundation

All of you know that most of the time change happens one person at a time with one small action at a time. More often than not, these actions are precipitated by the work of leaders and visionaries…people who clarify ideas or bring people together to discuss ideas -- leaders who gather people of common purpose to plot and plan for the common good.

There are so many people associated with the International Working Group who fall into this category - leaders and visionaries - that I would be remiss if I tried to thank them all. But I do want to especially thank a few…

First, an outstanding Co-Chair of this gathering, Dr. Sue Neill of Sport Canada. I must thank Sport Canada and the Canadian government and the work of the Canadian Association for Women's Sports for all of the effort that has gone into this conference. I also would like to acknowledge the role of both of these groups in planting the seeds that resulted in the Canadian Women's Hockey Olympic gold medal. What an absolutely terrific game they played against the USA women. They so deserved to win.

Second, The Honorable Minister Pendukeni Ivula-Ithana, not only for co-chairing this conference and being Co-Chair of the International Working Group, but for her leadership and, also, the incredible work of Carol Garoes in putting on the terrific conference in Namibia.

Third, where would we be if it weren't for Dr. Anita White, the first Co-chair of the International Working Group, her vision and that of the founders of this excellent organization?

And, last but not least, I'm looking forward to the future service of Etsuko Ogasawara, a Co-chair of the IWG.

It takes leaders who demonstrate passion and persistence and it takes players to be on their team who take responsibility for shaping and pursuing an agenda. That is what makes the world change; people like these and people like you. And that is the subject of my brief remarks this afternoon.

Then open tennis started in 1968 with prize money for the players, the men squeezed us out. The players and promoters of all the tournaments and all of the top officials were men. They didn't care if women had a place to compete or to win prize money. Therefore, there were very few places for the women to play. Nine of us, called the Original Nine, were determined to create our own women's tour. The Original Nine members included: Peaches Bartkowicz, Rosie Casals, Judy Dalton, Julie Heldman, Kerry Melville, Kristy Pigeon, Nancy Richey, Valerie Ziegenfuss and me. We all signed a $1 contract with Gladys Heldman, publisher of World Tennis Magazine, and she set out to find a sponsor to believe in our vision of having our own tour. She joined forces with Joseph Cullman, III from Philip Morris for the birth of women's professional tennis.

In 1973, I founded the Women's Tennis Association and finally got everyone under the same umbrella. For the first time, women's professional tennis had one voice. The players today are living our dream and our vision. We wanted every little girl to have an opportunity to make a living playing tennis. This did not mean a guarantee of a job, but an opportunity, if she is good enough.

All we were doing was protesting inequality and saying that we would rather play on our own. We wanted to be respected, and organizing our own tour was a way for us to have control of our destiny. We would find our own market value.

The WTA now ranks as the world's most successful international professional sports organization. It has 1,200 ranked players, 66 events in 33 countries, and is watched by hundreds of millions of television viewers with a total purse of $51.7 million.

So, my first message is simple, one that we all know well, we can never be silent in the face of inequities. We must state our principles and speak out against wrong. To be silent is to accept; silence makes it okay.

The second message is that speaking out is never enough. We must act to be sure we do not participate in injustice. We must make sure that each of our organizations is one in which we are proud to be a part and that we are working every day to make inequities a thing of the past.

Third, "we" means "I", not "them". Personal responsibility is key; that every man and woman who believes in gender equality speaks up and acts to do something that will result in positive change. Each one of us needs to accept responsibility.

Fourth, that activism, doing what is right, does not mean anger. Anger makes the people you are angry with become defensive, rigid and resolute in their unwillingness to change. Activism, to me, proceeds best when it is persistent, positive, respectful and insistent on equal treatment; filled with facts and hope; strong, true and accurate statements without resorting to irrational threats or shouting and a matter-of-fact expectation of doing what is right.

Fifth, we can't pick and choose the kind of discrimination we are willing to fight. If we fight gender discrimination, we must also stand up and fight against race discrimination and we must stand up for the rights of differently-abled sisters and brothers.

Including all girls and women, girls and women of different races, ethnicities, social and economic classes, is an absolute must for every organization and every sport. First we must look within to make sure we are setting an example, and then we must go forward to create a world that reflects this example.

A great story of someone who had to stare down bigotry as well as strong opponents, is Althea Gibson. She faced discrimination on a daily basis, but did not let it impede her success. I first saw her when I was 13 years old and she was such an inspiration to me. I loved history and realized what she had done for women and for people of color. Although some tournaments went out of existence rather than admit her in their event, Althea became the first female of color to ever play in a sanctioned tournament. She broke down many barriers on her way to winning Wimbledon and becoming number one in the world for the first time in 1957. She also competed on the LPGA tour.

Sixth, we must remember that sport is a vehicle, a medium of self expression which allows girls and women to explore their mental, emotional and physical skills, to exercise their leadership, to experience competition with respected equals. Because sport is a cultural institution embraced worldwide, it exists within the reach of every girl and woman. It exists to help her develop strength, confidence, and courage --- qualities that all of us need to pursue social change, greater opportunities to find out how good we can be.

Sport is the vehicle and we are the inspiration. We bring our values to sport. We give the gift of skill and fitness and accomplishment along with the gifts of respect and trust and honesty. Sport is a wonderful profession and such wonderful work.

As the founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Women's Sports Foundation, I want you to know how excited we are to be part of this world community of national and international organizations dedicated to advancing leadership and participation opportunities for girls and women in sport. We are eager to share ideas and strategies and to learn from what you are all doing; to benefit from your creativity and experiences.

I hope to personally be able to continue a dialogue with each of you through the Women's Sports Foundation-USA web site and its newly launched international discussion group in which I plan to participate. It is so important for all of us to be able to fuel our efforts and passion through interacting with each other, sharing ideas and programs and becoming rejuvenated with each other's energy. Together we will change the world of sport to be kinder and more respectful of the needs and aspirations of sportswomen.

Thank you for all you do and inviting me to participate with you in this exhilarating conference.