Who Are The Original 9 In Womens Tennis?

The nine women who originally signed the $1 million tennis contract in 1973 were Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Kristy Pigeon, Kerry Melville Reid, Peaches Bartkowicz, Julie Heldman, Valerie Ziegenfuss, and Connie Moore.

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. She is an advocate for gender equality and social justice. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Burke—White Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame on March 11, 2009.

Rosie Casals

Rosie Casals, was born in San Francisco on October 16, 1948. She was the second of six children of Salvador and Emma Casals. Salvador, originally from Barcelona, Spain, had moved to the United States in 1930. He was a semi-professional soccer player and later became a professional boxer. Emma was born in San Francisco to Mexican parents.

Casals began playing tennis at the age of eight. At ten, she started playing competitively in junior tournaments. In 1963, at age fifteen, she reached the finals of the U.S. // Girls’ 12s National Championships, losing to Betsy Nagelsen 6–1, 6–2. The following year, she won the U.S. // Girls’ 14s National Championships by defeating Nancy Richey Gunter 6–2, 1–6, 6–4 in the finals.

Nancy Richey

Nancy Richey was an American professional tennis player. She was active in the 1960s and 1970s and was ranked as high as World No. 2. She won three Grand Slam singles titles and four Grand Slam doubles titles. Richey also won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Kerry Melville Reid

Kerry Melville Reid (born 10 March 1952) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, including threeAustralian Opens.

Judy Dalton

Judy Dalton is an Australian former professional tennis player. She was born in Sydney on December 22, 1944. Dalton started playing tennis at age six. She won her first major tournament, the junior singles event at the Austalian Championships, in 1961 at age 16. Dalton turned professional in 1963 and won her first professional tournament later that year.

Dalton was a member of the original nine women who formed the Virginia Slims Circuit in 1970. She won 23 professional singles titles and nine doubles titles during her career. Her best Grand Slam result was reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open in 1968 and 1972. Dalton retired from professional tennis in 1977 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1992.

Julie Heldman

Julie Heldman (born December 21, 1943) is a former American tennis player. She was born in New York City and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Heldman was a three-time All-American at Stanford University. As a junior in 1964, she won the NCAA singles title, defeating Nancy Richey in the final. She also won the doubles title that year, teaming with Nancy Chaffee. In 1965, she helped Stanford win the team national championship.

Heldman turned professional in 1967 and reached the semifinals of her first tournament, the Virginia Slims Invitational in Houston. She went on to win 13 professional singles titles and 16 doubles titles during her career. Her biggest singles title came at the 1970 Italian Open, where she defeated Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the final.

Heldman was ranked as high as No. 5 in the world and was a member of the U.S. Fed Cup team from 1970 to 1973. She retired from competitive tennis in 1977 and now works as a television commentator and journalist.

Peaches Bartkowicz

Peaches Bartkowicz was born on December 18, 1945, in Newark, New Jersey. She was the second African American woman to play on the professional tennis circuit and is known for being one of the original nine women to form the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in 1973. Prior to turning professional, Bartkowicz won the 1966 NCAA singles championship while attending Denver University. She turned professional later that year and went on to win six Grand Slam doubles titles during her career. Bartkowicz retired from tennis in 1977 and currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kristy Pigeon

She was an American professional tennis player and a member of the Women’s Tennis Association. Pigeon’s highest WTA singles ranking was world No. 16, which she achieved in July 1985. Her career highlights include winning the 1983 French Open girls’ singles title and reaching the semifinals of the 1983 US Open.

Fiona Walker

Fiona Walker is a retired Scottish tennis player. She is best known for being one of the original nine women to play at Wimbledon in 1884.