Virginia Slims Circuit
E642842
The Virginia Slims Circuit was a pioneering women's professional tennis tour in the early 1970s that helped launch the modern WTA Tour and advance gender equality in sports.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
professional sports tour
ⓘ
women's professional tennis tour ⓘ |
| activePeriodStart | early 1970s ⓘ |
| associatedMovement | women's liberation movement ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Billie Jean King's advocacy for equal pay ⓘ |
| conflictedWith | United States Lawn Tennis Association NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contributedTo | formation of the Women's Tennis Association ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| era | pre-open era to early open era transition ⓘ |
| foundedBy | Gladys Heldman NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genderFocus | women ⓘ |
| governedBy | independent promoters ⓘ |
| historicalRole |
pioneering women's professional tennis tour
ⓘ
precursor to the WTA Tour ⓘ |
| impact |
advancement of gender equality in sports
ⓘ
greater media exposure for women's tennis ⓘ increased prize money for women tennis players ⓘ |
| inception | 1970 ⓘ |
| influenced | modern WTA Tour NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| keyFigure |
Billie Jean King
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Judy Dalton NERFINISHED ⓘ Julie Heldman NERFINISHED ⓘ Kerry Melville NERFINISHED ⓘ Kristy Pigeon NERFINISHED ⓘ Nancy Richey NERFINISHED ⓘ Peaches Bartkowicz NERFINISHED ⓘ Rosie Casals NERFINISHED ⓘ Valerie Ziegenfuss NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| keyFigureGroup | Original 9 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legacy |
foundation of professional opportunities for women tennis players
ⓘ
model for later women's sports tours ⓘ |
| mediaCoverage |
print press
ⓘ
television ⓘ |
| mergedInto | WTA Tour NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| motivation |
create independent women's professional tour
ⓘ
fight for equal prize money in tennis ⓘ |
| notableEvent | contract signing of the Original 9 in 1970 ⓘ |
| organizedBy |
Gladys Heldman
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
World Tennis magazine NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precededBy | amateur women's tennis circuit ⓘ |
| prizeMoney | significantly higher than previous women's events ⓘ |
| sponsor | Virginia Slims NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| sponsorIndustry | tobacco ⓘ |
| sport | tennis ⓘ |
| status | defunct ⓘ |
| successor | WTA Tour NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| tourType | independent from national federations ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.