Sport is arguably the biggest arena in the fight for equal pay: in a milestone victory last week and after a six-year legal battle, the US Women’s National Soccer Team reached an agreement with USSF to equalise compensation, bonuses, and work conditions between the women's and men's national teams through 2028. But in the history of gender-based pay discrimination, the tennis court pre-dates the soccer field. In this special episode, we flashback to Summer 2021 and the unique opportunity to cover The Original 9’s story as told during their induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.   In 1970, nine female professional tennis players rebelled against the United States Lawn Tennis Association due to the wide inequality in prize money paid to male vs. female tennis players. Their strike led to the creation of the WTA and laid the groundwork for other female athletes. Today, tennis has the smallest gender pay gap in sport. Please note the source material for this episode was recorded June 2021. Follow us on Instagram: @ialsopodcast & Twitter: @IAlsoPodcast About The Original 9: Nearly 51 years ago, nine brave women banded together to take a first-of-its kind stand against a growing disparity in prize money and playing opportunities for women in professional tennis. As a result of their courage, women’s professional tennis was launched on September 23, 1970 when the Original 9 stood with promoter Gladys Heldman in Houston and held aloft symbolic dollar bills notes. The nine women were Americans Peaches Bartkowicz, Rosie Casals, Julie Heldman, Billie Jean King, Kristy Pigeon, Nancy Richey, Valerie Ziegenfuss, and Australians Judy Tegart Dalton and Kerry Melville Reid, and together with Heldman they were committed to creating a better future for female athletes. Faced with the threat of expulsion by the sport’s traditional governing bodies – which meant being stripped of their rankings and eligibility to compete at the Slams or on national teams – the Original 9 held their nerve, signing $1 contracts to play in Heldman’s alternative, non-sanctioned Virginia Slims Invitational.  The Original 9 and their colleagues working tirelessly to cultivate relationships with promoters and sponsors and market their league to the media and the public.  As the threatened penalties were shown to be ill-judged, the Original 9 recruited more players to the cause, building a momentum that would eventually lead to the formation of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in 1973 and inspire the fight for equal prize money for decades to come. Today, women's tennis thrives through as the world’s leading global sport for women. This success is built on the Original 9’s enduring vision that girls and women around the world deserve equality of opportunity, in tennis and in all walks of life. Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame.  Audio and images courtesy of International Tennis Hall of Fame Follow the International Tennis Hall of Fame on