When did the tennis majors start paying women equally

Name the nine. Date the fight, major by major.

Key facts

1
The four majors reached equal prize money in this order: US Open 1973, Australian Open 2001, French Open 2006 (2007 by some counts) and Wimbledon 2007.
2
Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on 20 September 1973, in front of 30,472 people at the Astrodome, for $100,000 winner-take-all.
3
The 1973 King-Riggs match drew an estimated 50 million viewers in the US and about 90 million worldwide.
4
Riggs had beaten Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 on 13 May 1973, four months before he played King.
5
On 22 February 2007, Wimbledon's Tim Phillips announced equal prize money, after lobbying by Venus Williams and Larry Scott.

Why it works

A fight like this has three moving parts. A spectacle buys attention: one match, one night, a global audience. That was King against Riggs in 1973.

An organisation turns attention into leverage. The WTA, founded in 1973, gave the women's game a single body with one ranking that could negotiate as a bloc.

Then the argument gets settled event by event, in prize-money tables, over decades. Venus Williams' 2006 essay and lobbying came before Wimbledon's 2007 decision, and she won the title that year. The oldest tournament was the last to move.

The line to say on court
“Nothing was granted. Name the date it was won.”

Drill: The hostile fact-check

25 min · alone

Pick three claims from this page: the 1973 audience figure, the Australian Open's equal-pay date and the Wimbledon decision.
Find a primary record for each, such as WTA history, the US Open's equal-pay milestones page or Wimbledon's 2007 announcement.
Tag each claim confirmed, estimated or disputed.

Number to beat3 of 3 claims tagged with a primary source

Faults and fixes

Calling King-Riggs just an exhibition stunt

It was a cultural turning point with a measured audience.

FixUse the numbers, labelled as estimates.

Thinking all majors paid equally from 1973

Only the US Open did. The others took 28 to 34 more years.

FixLearn the four dates, one per major.

Thinking King's was the only Riggs match

Riggs had beaten Margaret Court four months earlier.

FixPut both 1973 matches on the timeline.

Questions players ask

What was the score of the Battle of the Sexes?

Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on 20 September 1973 at the Astrodome.

When did Wimbledon start paying women the same as men?

In 2007. Tim Phillips announced it on 22 February 2007, after lobbying by Venus Williams and Larry Scott.

Which Grand Slam paid equal prize money first?

The US Open, in 1973. It was 34 years before all four majors paid equally.

When was the WTA founded?

In 1973, the same year as the King-Riggs match. It gave the women's game one ranking and one structure.

What this doesn't cover

The television audience figures are estimates. Equal prize money isn't equal exposure or scheduling. Sources disagree on the French Open, with some giving 2006 and others 2007, depending on whether parity means the champions' cheques or every round. The Australian Open's record before 2001 was on and off. Match-fixing claims about Riggs resurface from time to time. They are noted here, not settled.

Sources

WTA: "Our History"
US Open: "Milestones in equality: equal prize money at the four Grand Slams"
ESPN: "How the pay gap in Grand Slam tennis finally closed"
Britannica: Billie Jean King
billiejeanking.com: Battle of the Sexes

Know the gameWho are the greatest women tennis players of all timeChris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams each set the standard of their era, and each added one mechanism to the game. Evert brought depth without error, Navratilova the net and conditioning, Graf the run-around forehand, Serena the serve. Serena holds the Open Era record of 23 majors. Graf's 1988 Golden Slam has never been matched.Know the gameWhat is the Open Era in tennis, and why does 1968 matter?The Open Era is tennis since 1968, when the majors first let professionals and amateurs play in the same draws. Before it, the best players were barred from the majors for taking money. That's why records carry a start date: Margaret Court has 24 majors across both eras, and Serena Williams holds the Open Era women's record with 23.Know the gameWhat makes each of the four Grand Slams differentThe four Grand Slams differ mainly in surface, which changes the bounce and the kind of player who wins. Roland Garros is clay, slow and high, favouring heavy topspin. Wimbledon is grass, fast and low, rewarding the serve and first strike. The Australian and US Opens are hard courts in between. Formats and traditions add the rest.Know the gameHow to read a tennis head-to-head rivalryRead a tennis rivalry by splitting the head-to-head by surface first and by year second, then finding on film what one player changed to solve the other. Evert and Navratilova played 80 times. Navratilova led 43–37 overall, but Evert led 11–3 on clay and Navratilova led 10–5 on grass. The overall count hides the story.