The nice Billie Jean King grew to become the pioneer for equal prize cash when she gained the ladies’s singles title on the 1972 US Open and unequivocally demanded that the next 12 months’s US Open pay males’s and girls’s gamers equally. King’s ultimatum set the tone for a momentous 12 months forward, which first noticed the formation of the Girls’s Tennis Affiliation. After the 1973 US Open milestone of equal pay, King then defeated Bobby Riggs within the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match at Houston’s iconic Astrodome, a match that helped to propel the ladies’s motion in each sports activities and in society, and nonetheless stays the most-watched tennis match ever.
“The USTA is extremely proud to have a good time the fiftieth anniversary of awarding equal prize cash at this 12 months’s US Open, and to honor Billie Jean King’s efforts to make this a actuality,” stated Brian Hainline, USTA Chairman of the Board and President. “No particular person has carried out extra to safe equality for feminine athletes than Billie Jean King. Her influence goes far past the tennis courtroom, and there’s no higher time to have a good time her legacy than on the anniversary of this historic milestone.”
“It’s not simply concerning the cash, it’s concerning the message,” stated Billie Jean King. “Each era does must battle for equality and freedom.”
The USTA is also actively supporting the hassle to have King’s myriad achievements acknowledged with a Congressional Gold Medal. Although 11 particular person athletes have obtained the Congressional Gold Medal, none of these recipients has been a lady athlete. The marketing campaign to award the respect to King has begun, and efforts can be ongoing over the course of the 12 months.
The USTA can be partnering with the Girls’s Sports activities Basis (WSF), based in 1974 by King to allow all women and girls to achieve their potential in sport and life, which is able to assist the Congressional Gold Medal marketing campaign in numerous methods, together with with their experience in advocacy and collective influence, in addition to their vital attain with athletes, leaders, entities and followers.
“Billie has rightfully obtained quite a few honors and accolades in her life,” stated Stacey Allaster, Chief Government, Skilled Tennis, USTA and US Open Event Director. “However the time has come for our nation to acknowledge her achievements with the Congressional Gold Medal for the wide-ranging constructive influence these achievements have had on generations of girls, males, ladies, and boys of all backgrounds, making our nation a greater place.”
The 2023 US Open theme artwork additionally can be tied to the celebration of the fiftieth Anniversary of Equal Prize Cash. The paintings, created by Brazilian artist Camila Pinheiro, is a daring and up to date spin on an iconic picture of Billie Jean King, whereas capturing the facility and pleasure of the US Open in a dramatic vogue. The US Open theme artwork is featured throughout all areas of promotion and activation, together with on US Open broadcasts, by means of a sturdy merchandise providing, US Open promoting, and can be seen all through the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Middle. The USTA is proud to assist WSF with a donation from the proceeds of this theme artwork.
The USTA is planning a full slate of actions to assist this historic anniversary. A multi-dimensional historical past of equal prize cash, and the influence that equal prize cash has had on sports activities can be launched on-line with extra promotion throughout the affiliation’s social media channels. The sequence will embody tales written by famous tennis journalists complemented with historic video footage which is able to roll out over the 5 months resulting in the 2023 US Open. Lastly, a “What Equality Means to Me” sequence of essays penned by notable ladies from all disciplines of life, will start to roll out in April. The primary of those essays can be authored by King.
Equal prize cash can be themed all through the 2023 US Open and equality would be the focus of the US Open’s ongoing “Be Open” marketing campaign. Now in its fourth 12 months, the Be Open marketing campaign emphasizes tennis’ dedication to variety, inclusion and respect, and encourages all tennis followers to embrace these beliefs.
Additional info on the celebration of this historic milestone can be introduced over the course of 2023. The US Open takes place yearly on the USTA Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Middle in Flushing Meadows, Queens. This 12 months’s event begins with US Open Fan Week on Tuesday, August 22, with the principle draw of the event operating from Monday August 28 by means of Sunday September 10.
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