The Original Nine paved the way for the WTA

Billie Jean King organized players into the WTA

In 1973, the Virginia Slims Circuit was successful, but when the USLTA demanded a higher tournament fee for Circuit players, promoter Gladys Heldman refused. In response, Billie Jean King met with over 50 players before the 1973 Wimbledon Championships to form the Women's Tennis Association, a move that led to equal pay at the US Open the following year.

Gladys Heldman was a key promoter of pro women's tennis

The photo of the Original Nine holding up their $1 bills after signing their contracts is an iconic image in both the sport and the women's liberation movement. Gladys Heldman isn't in that photo, but she was the promoter behind the tournament and the subsequent Virginia Slims Circuit. This WTA Tennis article dives into her life and her unforgettable contributions to women's tennis.

Read the 2006 op-ed Venus Williams wrote about equal pay

In 2005 Venus Williams met with French Open officials and the Wimbledon tournament board to advocate for equal prize money between men and women at the prestigious tournaments. The 2007 season marked the first time men and women received equal prize money in every Major.

The Open Era redefined both men's and women's tennis

The early days of modern tennis were largely enjoyed by the upper class, who had money for lawns to play on. More often than not, the best players competed for the love of the game, not money. This led to Grand Slams limiting the competitions to amateur athletes. Things changed in 1968, considered the start of the Open Era, when professional players were permitted to play.

How Title IX changed college basketball

Until Title IX was passed in 1972, the NCAA had little interest in women's sports because it didn't see them as profitable. This article explores how the AIAW was formed to govern women's basketball, and the massive fight the NCAA eventually put up to take over in 1982. Read about the legal battles it took, and how much money women's basketball is bringing to the NCAA now.

How the WBL set the stage for the WNBA

Nearly two decades before the WNBA began, there was the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's professional basketball league in the United States. Though it was only around for three years, it was groundbreaking, building the template for women's leagues and, eventually, for the WNBA.

Title IX helped push women’s soccer to the world stage

In 1999, Title IX-era stars Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain helped the US win the 1999 World Cup, drawing a then-record 18 million viewers and popularizing US women’s soccer. Many suggest this would not have been possible without the NCAA’s role as a talent incubator, attracting over 20,000 international athletes annually.

Billie Jean King on playing tennis before Title IX

Before Title IX, tennis legend Billie Jean King not only had to deal with limited resources; she also had to deal with isolating experiences, like being excluded from team photos at Long Beach State and being told to "get lost" by male teammates. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

See what women's tennis looked like through history

Women playing tennis today wear athletic clothing tailored to the demands of the sport. But when tennis started in the late 1800s, women were expected to play wearing long, Victorian dresses. Using historic photos, this Bustle article explores how tennis was brought to the US, what it looked like at the 1900 Olympics, and how the sport has grown since its inception.

Tennis' weirdest rule (only for women)

At all but one Grand Slam, men and women played with the same tennis ball. But at the US Open, women were required to use a different ball until a change was made a few years ago. We break down the story behind that strange anomaly.

Tennis' global evolution

In the 1970s and 1980s, American men and women dominated the top 100 rankings on both tours. But as each tour expanded its global reach, the American dominance declined. This Bleacher Report analysis breaks down the national make-up of the top 100 players for each decade. View maps that show which country gained and lost rankings through each decade and see who is the top country now.

Revisit 10 iconic moments from the Women's World Cup

The Women's World Cup was inaugurated over 60 years after the men's, but it has kept pace with its production of iconic moments. Revisit the player revolts, sports bras, shocking referee decisions, and more that comprise the top moments in Women’s...

Bowling was long male-dominated, but women pushed for change through the sport

The sport was often played on lawns attached to breweries and became a leisure activity for folks in taverns—mostly men, in the 1800s. But the game's highly communal nature attracted a more diverse set of participants who pushed for social change.

US women got the right to open a credit card in their own name in 1974

Before that year, banks in the US were legally allowed to deny women credit or charge them higher interest if they failed to get a male cosigner.

How tax breaks power the PGA Tour, a nonprofit organization

When the PGA was formed in 1916, its primary objective was to grow the game of golf, so it was established as a nonprofit. When the PGA Tour split off in 1968, that nonprofit status stayed. But as revenue jumped past $1B, questions began to arise. This "Outside the Lines" investigation from 2013 dives into their tax records and details how much the PGA actually gives to charity.

The tragic story of tennis upstart Monica Seles

At just 17, Monica Seles reached the top of the WTA, becoming the youngest player to do so at the time. She was expected to have a long career, but shortly after she turned 19, a deranged fan stabbed her in the back in the middle of a match. This Cult Tennis video explores the motivation of the fan who stabbed her, how he got away with it, and the impact on the rankings.

Part of the reason why American teachers aren't paid well has to do with gender

In the US, the wage gap between teachers and others with the same level of education and experience was nearly 20% as of 2021, per CNBC. That's partly because teaching was originally branded as a woman's profession.

Explore works by essential female pop artists

Like so many art movements, the pantheon of pop art was mostly men, despite the contributions of several important women artists to its aesthetics and history. See paintings from British pop founder Pauline Boty and several artists who worked with, or exhibited alongside, the likes of Warhol and Haring.

'9 to 5' was Dolly Parton's first No. 1 pop hit

1977’s “Here You Come Again” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, but “9 to 5,” the 1980 song for a film of the same name (starring Parton alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) was the first to reach the top.

Marie Curie developed and trained women to operate mobile X-ray units in World War I

The “petites Curies” allowed medical professionals to identify the severity of wounds without transporting soldiers to medical facilities, expediting treatment and saving lives. The efforts of Curie and other women led to expansions in their rights after the war.

Free agency dramatically changed player compensation

When team owners created the reserve clause in 1879, the idea was that each team would control player salaries rather than the open market. After the 1975 elimination of the reserve clause, players became eligible for free agency after a contract expired, increasing wages across the league.

'Sex and the City' changed the way single women were portrayed on TV

After debuting in 1998, the comedy ran for six seasons on HBO, offering a frank take on the lives of well-to-do single women. Critics argue the show established a model for other shows to follow, including those that aired on HBO, like "Girls" and "Insecure." (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The man who gave 9 people power over everyone

In the US, nine unelected justices can shape some of the most personal and political parts of our lives. But the Supreme Court wasn't always this powerful. When it was first written into the Constitution, it had no clear authority, no real role, and little public respect.

Vince McMahon turned wrestling into a consolidated, national enterprise

In 1982, Vince McMahon purchased the World Wrestling Federation, which would later be renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, and quickly wiped out the WWE’s smaller regional promotions. By the late 1990s, he minted superstars like Chyna, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

The prominent role of women in the Easter story

In the first century, women's testimony was not legally admissible in Jewish courts—the historian Josephus wrote that their accounts were not admissible based on a prejudiced view of women. Scholars who argue for the historical reliability of the resurrection point to this as counterintuitive evidence: no one fabricating the story would have chosen women as the prime witnesses.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution