The Story Everyone Should Know About Venus Williams

Every tennis player should be writing her a thank you note

A few days from now, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, a man and a woman will become the Wimbledon singles championships.

And they’ll be awarded the same amount of prize money.

Thanks to Venus Williams.

While her sister Serena has received the bulk of media and fan attention for many years, 20 years ago, the dominant Williams in women’s tennis was Venus.

She was the Wimbledon champion in 2000 and 2001, the runner-up in 2002 and 2003, and then champion again in 2005. 

But there was one battle she found harder to win than the one on Centre Court: the battle for equal pay.

Every tennis player owes a debt of gratitude to Billie Jean King, who fought to make sure there was a women’s competition so long ago.

But it was Venus who picked up the fight that King and others started decades earlier.

The US Open had paid women and men the same prize money since 1973, and the Australian Open followed suit in 2001. But the European Grand Slams lagged behind. 

In 2005, on the day before her Wimbledon final match, Venus Williams stood before the execs of Wimbledon and the French Open and made a passionate plea for equality.

The French Open execs were convinced, and agreed to pay parity for the 2006 tournament.

But Wimbledon lagged behind.

Using the power of the pen

So in June 2006, Venus Williams penned a letter to The Times that implored Wimbledon to do the right thing. 

She started the letter by expressing her love and admiration for the Wimbledon tournament, saying how as young girls she and her sister Serena had imagined playing on Centre Court and being Wimbledon champions.

“There is nothing like playing at Wimbledon; you can feel the footprints of the legends of the game — men and women — that have graced those courts,” she wrote.

But then she expressed her disappointment and concern. By awarding the women’s champion £30,000 less than the men’s champion, Wimbledon was sending a message: that women were second class.

And this message was reiterated with a women’s total prize pot that was £750,000 less than the men’s. 

She countered the argument that women are paid less because they don’t play “five sets like the men.” She said she and all the other women players were willing to play five sets – and that the chairman of the All England Club knew this, and had even acknowledged that women players are physically capable of playing five sets.

And, she added, “the ladies’ final at Wimbledon in 2005 lasted 45 minutes longer than the men’s.” 

“No extra charge.”

It’s not about money

To put the issue in economic terms, Williams stated that the difference between men and women’s prize money in 2005 was less than was spent on ice cream and strawberries in the first week of the tournament. 

“So the refusal of the All England Club, which declared a profit of £25 million from last year’s tournament, to pay equal prize money can’t be about cash.”

Champions Venus Williams and Billie Jean King

She finished her letter with a commitment, saying she would keep doing everything she could “until Billie Jean’s original dream of equality is made real.”

Why is her letter so good?

Venus serves a winner with this letter because it appeals to the heart and the head. Her respect and love for Wimbledon is evident. When she shares the data, you can see the figures are small compared to the profit the All England Club makes. 

And she makes those figures even more tangible when she compares them to the amount spent on ice cream and strawberries.

But it’s not just about money. 

The £30,000 difference in the prize money is small in terms of the total prize money – but it is symbolic. Venus isn’t just asking for money, she’s asking for respect. And recognition that women and men are both making valuable contributions to the sport and the tournament.

She is ready to counter their arguments about the contributions women make and even elicits a laugh (at least from me) with her line ‘no extra charge’ after reminding them that the women’s final was longer than the men’s.

And she ends her letter with a message of hope – of possibility – and a commitment to do what she can to make this a reality.

And it worked.

In 2007, Venus Williams made history again when she won the Wimbledon singles tournament for a fourth time – and became the first female champion to earn the same prize money as the male champion.

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