Last semester(2013), I have a couple of assignments. One of my assignments is Academic Writing which is the mark will carry for the final exam. I think I did quite well and I got A- for my Writing. :) With doing this assignment, its really expose me to the writing world. I really enjoy doing this assignments although have to make a couple drafts before the final one. Maybe for the future I want to work as a sport writer(in New York). Because I am tennis number one fan, so my academic is all about tennis. More specific, women tennis. So, here it is :
Fitri Nordin, 23 October 2013
Women’s
Tennis Association fight for women’s tennis for 40 years
This year, Women's Tennis
Association (WTA) celebrates its 40th anniversary. In this essay, I will
elaborate four aspects about WTA based on history, equal prize, sponsorship and
global sport.
The first aspect is about the
history of women tennis. In 1973, tennis founder, Billie Jean King and 63 other
women gathered at London's Gloucester Hotel to form a tennis tour for women
that fight for equality, recognition and respect for women. Then, WTA was
founded and King was the first president in 1973. At the same year, the famous
The Battle of the Sexes happen where King defeated Bobby Riggs, a male tennis
player in Houston, Texas on 20 September 1973. Neil Amdur wrote in the The New
York Times that King won for all women and female athlete can survive
pressure-filled situation that shows how strong female athlete are. In 1975,
the WTA signing a television broadcast contract with CBS for the first time to
increase its financial stature. The history has women’s tennis has shown that
how strong they are to fight equal for women.
The second aspect is the equal
prize for women player. In the beginning of Open Era, women players received
less money than what men earned. King is one of the women that fight for
equality. King received $15,000 less than Ilie Nastase did for winning the US
Open in 1972. She said, if the prize money was not equal for men and women by
the next year, she and the other women would not play. According to epsn.com,
in 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize
money. At this year US Open, prize money offered for Women's Singles Champion
is $3,2000,000 that won by Serena Williams. Maria Sharapova alone becomes the
tops Forbes's annual list of the highest-paid female athletes for the ninth
consecutive years starting from 2004 to 2013. Serena Williams, Li Na and
Victoria Azarenka round out the top four and tennis player occupy seven of the
top nine sports overall. King had fight for women made a big impact until
today.
The third aspect is the
sponsorship for WTA. In 1976, Colgate becomes the first sponsorship for WTA
from April to November that year according to sonyerricsowtatour.com. In 1979,
Avon becomes the third sponsorship for WTA replaced Virginia Slims as the
sponsor. Avon offered the largest prize money for single tournament, $100,000
for the Avon Championship. In 2003, Porsche became North American promotional
sponsor of the WTA Tour. Today, a lot of global brands are eager to be
associated with WTA such as Dubai Duty Free, Oriflame, Jetstar, Western Union
and Xerox. "I think it is because we have the best athletes in the world,
who are truly citizen and who also major figures in the entertainment
world" said Ms Allaster, the current CEO of WTA to respond a question why
are sponsor aligned with the WTA and athletes. WTA is a strong global sport
that convinces global brands to be associated with the WTA as a sponsorship
with tournament revenues and TV deals.
The fourth aspect is the women
tennis as a global sport. Today, WTA having players from 10 different countries
in the global top 10. The organisation now has more events in Asia compared in
Europe or America. WTA has 2500 players represent 92 nations and 54 events
around the world every year. Women's tennis in the in the Asia region was given
a significant boost when Li Na, from China, won the French Open title in 2011.
Ms Allaster, recently called the player "the most important of the
decade" in terms of the boost to tennis in Asia that she provides. WTA
also will expand its tour in Latin America and hopes build on, and beyond, the
2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A lot of cities around the world
also demand to host WTA events such as 125k series that just launched last
year. The WTA has become one of the most popular sports in the world and play
by everyone in every sides of the world.
In this essay, I have elaborated
four aspects which are history, equal prize, sponsorship and global sport. As a
conclusion, WTA is a biggest global women sport and produced a biggest name
such as Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Li Na.
References
:
1 1. Larry
Achwartz, , Billian Jean won for all women, espn.com
22. Bill
Wilson, (2013 May 7), WTA serves up women’s tennis for 40 years, bbc.com
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