# The Women's Game and the Numbers · Tennis Level 10: Professional

Tennis · Level 10: Professional · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/tennis/level-10/the-womens-game-and-the-numbers/)

The Women's Game and the Numbers in Tennis (Level 10: Professional) on Insporta: 40 sourced facts behind 4 tests. Covers: building the women's tour; and more.

How the women's tour was built and where it stands today: the Original 9, equal pay at the biggest events, the records of the women's game, and how many people play tennis worldwide.

## Test 1: Building the women's tour

- They became known as the Original 9. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals were among them. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- The Virginia Slims Circuit grew into the modern WTA Tour. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- At the 1970 Pacific Southwest Open the men's champion was offered $12,500 and the women's $1,500, with the women's whole purse about 15% of the men's; that gap drove the Original 9 to Houston. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- King led the players who formed the WTA in 1973. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- It closed the Virginia Slims Circuit's season. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- It returned to best of three sets in 1999. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- 1970, 1972 and 1973. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- 1972, 2014-2018, 2019 and 2023. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- The men's rankings began in 1973 (A) and the women's in 1975 (B). (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)

## Test 2: Equal pay today

- Combined WTA 1000 and 500 events were to reach equal pay by 2027. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Single-week events had a longer path than the combined ones. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing had already got there. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Indian Wells and Miami are examples. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- The programme also offers grants for fertility treatment. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- It is part of the WTA's Family Focus programme. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Rome, Canada and Cincinnati were the last three to close the gap. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- 2007, 2023, 2027 and 2033. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- 2000, 1500, 1000, 500 and 125. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- The plan was set out in 2023, with combined events by 2027 and single-week events by 2033. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)

## Test 3: Records of the women's game

- Graf also finished a record eight years at No. 1. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- The Open Era record; Margaret Court's 24 includes titles from before 1968. (Source: ATP and WTA record books, Grand Slam records)
- Evert is next with 157. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Margaret Court's 11 is the record across all eras. (Source: ATP and WTA record books, Grand Slam records)
- Her eleven Australian titles are part of her overall 24. (Source: ATP and WTA record books, Grand Slam records)
- She was the first No. 1 when the rankings began in 1975. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Hingis won three of the four majors that year. (Source: ATP and WTA record books, Grand Slam records)
- 377, 332, 319 and 260. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- 167, 157 and 107. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)
- Graf's 377 weeks is the record; Navratilova has 332, Serena Williams 319 and Evert 260. (Source: WTA: tour structure, rankings history and announcements)

## Test 4: Tennis in numbers

- The ITF's third Global Tennis Report counted just under 106 million players. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- Asia had about 35 million players, a third of the total. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- About 23.8 million Americans play tennis. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- 13.4% of people in Great Britain play, just ahead of Canada's 12.8%. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- The report counted 698,034 courts. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- From 84.4 million to about 106 million, a rise of 25.6%. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- The report counted more than 175,000 coaches worldwide. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- About 35.3, 29.6 and 28.8 million. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- About 106 million players, 698,000 courts and 175,000 coaches. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)
- A third of the world's players are in Asia. (Source: ITF Global Tennis Report 2024)

Sources: The Grand Slam tournaments, ATP, WTA, ITF (Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, Global Tennis Report 2024), Laver Cup and IOC. Original questions authored, nothing reproduced.

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