After a rousing tribute from former first lady Michelle Obama, Billie Jean King on Monday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open becoming the first sporting event to offer equal prize money to female and male competitors, promising to never stop fighting to maintain that hard-won progress.
American former world No. 1 tennis player Billie Jean King reacts during a ceremony honoring 50 years of equal pay at the U.S Open during the Women/Men's Singles First Round matches on Day One of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King NationalAfter a rousing tribute from former first lady Michelle Obama, Billie Jean King on Monday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the U.S.
Obama introduced the 79-year-old tennis legend by recalling how King, the U.S. Open champion in 1972, rallied her fellow women players to threaten a boycott of the next year's tournament unless women got the same pay as men. It was announced that summer that the women's champion's paycheck would increase $15,000 so that both men's and women's champions would each receive $25,000.
"Let us remember, all of this is far bigger than a champions paycheck," Obama said. "This is about how women are seen and valued in this world. We have seen how quickly progress like this can be taken away if we are not mindful and vigilant, if we do not keep remembering and advocating and organizing and speaking out and, yes, voting."
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