Stacey Allaster: Other sports should use tennis as a case study
1973 was an historic period for tennis. It was the year that Bobby Riggs was famously defeated by Billie-Jean-King in the legendary ‘battle of the sexes’ tennis match. A result which showed the world that women not only deserve equal prize money but equal respect too. It would also see King go on to lay the foundation for the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
Forward 34 years and the sports’ progression towards equality took another turn. In 2007, Wimbledon and the French Open joined tennis’ other major grand slams in offering equal prize money to its men and women players. One person who was instrumental in its introduction is Stacey Allaster, the then head of the WTA.
Today, Stacey works as the Chief Executive of the United States Tennis Association, but her legacy from her time at the WTA will be forever remembered. She says other sports should follow tennis’ lead. “I think sports could look at tennis as a case study to see where they could learn and adapt and use the strategy that we have deployed. You make a decision as a business on what you want to represent. It takes courage, particularly of male leaders to say these athletes deserve to be treated equal and they need to step up and make it happen.”
Stacey believes more responsibility needs to be taken by those in positions of power. She said, “those who…. control the budget, whether it be at a team level or the sponsorship side or the media side, should have a strategy to say we are going to pay are athletes equal. It takes business leaders to stand up.”
So, can Tennis’ success in terms of equality be replicated across other sports? Stacey thinks it can but admits that investment is needed first. She said, “at Sony Ericsson we had the CEO stand up and say it was only right that the woman were paid equal. Richard Branson was part of our strategy to say women deserve to be treated equal. The women are training as hard as the guys, and you have to invest in the product to build the audience.” She added, “you can’t say ‘we don’t have the audience’, that’s because you’re not investing in the product to get the audience. Each sport needs to find those levers and who in their world can help advocate for what is right. And that way there is equal product there should be equal pay.”
