Wimbledon and Women

As the World Cup comes to a close, all eyes turn to the ongoing Wimbledon event, which started July 2 and ends on July 15. Wimbledon is a huge tournament with over one thousand players competing in the events, including men and women singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles and wheelchair players.

The Beginning

Wimbledon started with its first tournament in 1877; however, women weren’t permitted to play until 1884 where women’s singles were introduced, and won by Maud Watson out of the 13 women who competed. Three years later, the youngest player ever to have won Wimbledon singles was Charlotte “Lottie” Dod, who was 15 years old when she won in 1887; she then went on to win five more times, proving that women were just as qualified to play as men. Lottie was an exceptional sportswoman, competing in archery at the Olympics and coming second, as well as competing in golf and hockey.

The Battle of the Sexes

One of the most illuminating matches in history was between two Wimbledon winners, a clear “battle of the sexes”, in which player Bobby Riggs, having won three titles at Wimbledon in the Men’s singles, Doubles and mixed doubles in 1939, challenged Billie Jean King, who had won 20 titles at Wimbledon, to a “battles of the sexes,” after making many chauvinist comments about women and women’s tennis, including that “women belong in the bedroom and the kitchen” rather than the court, and that they “play about 25 percent as good as men, so they should get about 25 percent of the money men get.” The event in 1973 started out as a spectacle, however King, who is and was an advocate for equal pay in tennis, knew how important this match was for her to win. The pressure was on as 30,492 people watched live, with 90 million watching on TV. King started well, winning the first set 6-4 and going on to win the second and third sets 6-3, securing regard and respect for women in tennis worldwide.

The Williams Sisters

The Williams sisters are well known worldwide as incredible tennis players, holding over 100 titles between them, with Serena holding 23 grand slam titles and Venus holding 7. They both have been ranked World no.1 over the course of the year 2002. Currently Venus is ranked 9th in Wimbledon in singles and 205th in doubles, with Serena ranked at 181st in singles and 281st in doubles due to the time she took to have her baby. The sisters are stars worldwide in the world of tennis, due to their powerful play style and determination for success; despite not currently being number one, they are still the most well known female players. The sisters have often gone head to head, and yet retain a close relationship, as well as playing in doubles together. They are a big part of the women’s Wimbledon, and therefore definitely deserve a mention in this article.

Equality

Following on from this, Venus Williams, along with the Women’s Tennis Association, was instrumental in attaining equal pay for women in 2007 in Wimbledon. Up until then, it was said that women didn’t deserve equal pay as they played three sets in women’s singles as opposed to the men’s five sets, ignoring the fact that a) it is competition money rather than an hourly salaried job, and b) women often play in doubles as well as their singles matches. Venus became the frontrunner in this battle for equal pay, saying that the pay structure of Wimbledon shows the “glass ceiling” often confronted by women in any sort of competitive field. This statement drew the attention of parliament, and the issue progressed from there to equal pay finally being granted in 2007 as the chairman stated they “took into account both the overall progression and the fact that broader social factors are also relevant…the time is right to bring his subject to a logical conclusion and eliminate the difference.” Venus responded to this saying she applauded the decision, which “recognizes the value of women’s tennis.”

Today the highest ranking player is Simona Halep who is out of the running for Wimbledon after being defeated by Su-Wei Hseh, ranked 48th. Wimbledon is set to end on July 15.