Billie Jean King loves sharing the story of how the Women's Tennis Association began. She's far less comfortable taking all the credit for changing the sports world. King and eight other players broke away from the tennis establishment in 1970, eventually leading to the WTA and an era where female athletes could demand equal pay and conditions on the courts. The “Original 9” were reunited for just the second time since then, their legacy celebrated at the 40th anniversary of the Family Circle Cup this weekend. “I get all the kudos, but the eight players here did just as much or sometimes more,” King said. They all signed $1 contracts in 1970 with the publisher of World Tennis Magazine, Gladys Heldman, to begin a series of women's professional tournaments. King and the others were protesting inequities in prize money and bonuses at tournaments where men got what King said was often more than 10 times what the women earned. She received $600 for winning the 1970 Italian Open, while men's champion Ilie Nastase earned $3,500. The WTA tour was formed in 1973, and now players compete worldwide and benefit from millions in prize money. The Family Circle Cup offered an unheard of $100,000 in total prize money for its first women's event. This year's champion will earn $115,000 of the nearly $750,000 in prize money. King recalled going to Heldman's home regularly to discuss what would come next. The group – King, Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Judy Dalton, Valerie Ziegenfuss and Julie Heldman – stepped out on a limb, King said, by signing the contracts. King said officials of what is now the USTA called her, asking not to form the women's tour. There were threats of bans from Grand Slam events. “It was a very difficult time, but we figured it out,” King said. The two Australians in the group, Kerry Melville-Reid and Judy Dalton, recalled being athletic outcasts back home after starting the women's tour. What they started, though, began to pick up steam. The same year the WTA was founded in 1973, the US Open offered equal prize money to men and women for the first time. The nine's accomplishments have reached far beyond the tennis courts. That legacy was celebrated at a dinner Friday that honored the nine founders. A team tennis exhibition will feature Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and John McEnroe Saturday. Proceeds from the event will go to a WTA assistance fund, designed to help former players and tournament directors going through hard times.
