女子網球聯合會 (Women's Tennis Association)
女子網球聯合會是由比莉·簡·金於1973年創立的。聯合會創立的初衷是建立於女子網球運動員在體育運動中可以獲得均等的機會。此聯合會是全球女子職業網球的領頭羊,共有來自84個國家的1650多名選手參加比賽,爭奪創紀錄的1.8億美元獎金。它是女子職業網球的主要組織機構,管理著世界女子職業網球巡迴賽。
Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity for women in sports, the WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sport with more than 1,650 players representing 84 nations competing for a record $180 million in prize money. It is the principal organizing body of women’s professional tennis, and governs the WTA Tour, the worldwide professional tennis tour for women.當年女子網球聯合會創立前的最初9名女子網球運動員,以1美金籤約Virginia Slims巡迴賽合影留念。(抗議女子和男子網球運動員的比賽獎金差距)女子網球聯合會是在當年溫網前夕在倫敦格洛斯特酒店房間裡,金夫人號召60多名職業女子網球選手開會而建立的聯合會。聯合會也從此立即為女子網球運動員獲得她們應有的認可和平等待遇。(The Original 9: Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Judy Dalton, Valerie Ziegenfuss and Julie Heldman,these nine brave women, signed a $1 contract to join the Virginia Slims Circuit in protest against the inequity in prize money awarded in the men’s and women’s games, the WTA was created at a gathering of more than 60 players in a room at the Gloucester Hotel in London, one week before Wimbledon. The WTA immediately began helping women tennis players gain recognition and equality.
世界團體網球賽 (World Team Tennis)
比莉·簡·金在1974年與其餘五名聯合創始人共同創立了世界團隊網球組織(WTT),他們設想了一個男女都能在一支對比賽結果做出同等貢獻的團隊中參加體育比賽的世界級賽事。WTT是第一個為參賽的男女運動員提供同等權重的職業體育聯盟。
Envisioning a world in which men and women compete in sports together on a team with both genders making equal contributions to the result, Billie Jean King co-founded the inclusive World Team Tennis (WTT) organization in 1974. WTT is the first professional sports league to give equal weight to each man and woman competing for their teams.