The Tennis Docket: August 23, 2021
This week’s news includes a Billie Jean King interview, World Team Tennis 2021 logistics, tennis travel hacks, and more.
1973: The US Open Becomes First Major to Offer Equal Prize Money
The USTA frequently heralds the fact that they were the first Grand Slam tennis tournament to offer equal prize money for the men and the women. Fun fact: That claim isn’t exactly true. While the US Open was undeniably the first major to award equal prize money, it really wasn’t the initiative of the USLTA that caused it to happen. Instead, it was an object lesson in organizational leadership from Billie Jean King and Gladys Heldman.
1 response1971: Billie Jean King Wins $100,000
In 1971 Billie Jean King was the first woman to win $100,000 playing professional sports in a single year. It was a goal that she had personally set and announced. Talking about money openly was a calculated strategy intended to draw attention to the women’s tour. It gave the media a story to follow and was great publicity. When Billie Jean King cleared the mark by defeating Rosie Casals at the last Virginia Slims tournament, it was a defining moment for women’s professional sports. Legitimacy had arrived.
1968 US Open: Prize Money Distribution
The total prize purse for the first U.S. Open tennis tournament in 1968 was $100,000. Thus started a tradition of USLTA one-upmanship of offering more prize money than any of the other Grand Slam events. Leading into the tournament in 1968, the pressing public question was the source of the funds to be awarded. In retrospect, the distribution of prize money was more culturally and socioeconomically significant. It established the precedent for how money would be allocated between the men and women in the Open Era.
The Battle of the Sexes
“All In: An AutoBiography” by Billie Jean King was released two days ago. I am in the middle of a very busy week at work and haven’t yet completed my initial reading. Last weekend, in anticipation that I would not be able to turn around a review in two days, I hedged my bets by rewatching the “Battle of the Sexes” movie starring Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs. My review of “All In” will run next Thursday.
A Hella Hindrance in Toronto
There was an unusual call last week in a match between Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik. Medvedev lost a point for apologizing to Bublik after almost decapitating him with an overhead. Miraculously, Bublik got a racquet on the ball and returned it. The umpire called hindrance on Medvedev for saying “Sorry” when the point was still in play.
3 responsesSlide Board for Clay Court Mobility
Maria Sharapova once famously described her clay court mobility as a “cow on ice.” My own footwork on clay is not nearly that graceful. A few years ago one of my doubles partners who is a clay court specialist recommended
2 responsesThe Tennis Docket: August 16, 2021
Billie Jean King in advance of the release of her new autobiography “All In” and other offbeat news from the world of tennis. The professional tours head to Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Open.
Signs of the Times: Get Out and Play
The July Challenge of the USTA Tennis Champions initiative was to put up yard signs to promote tennis participation. I am concentrating my efforts in my childhood hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas. It isn’t my permanent residence, but recently I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time here. Once upon a time, Wichita Falls was a tennis hotbed with an abundance of courts. Unfortunately, one of the tennis centers is currently shuttered due to lack of public interest. It’s a modern tennis tragedy.
Trivia Time: What Year was the US Open First Conducted?
Here is a great trivia question to spark conversation and, more importantly – potentially win a bar bet. If you ask a person what year the US Open tennis tournament was first held, they are likely to come up with a date in the 1880s. It is a trick question. The US Open wasn’t played until the start of the Open Era, which was 1968. Before that year, the US Open wasn’t “Open.” That may prompt the question of what came before.