WATCH: Coco Gauff thanks Billie Jean King after receiving a $3,000,000 check following fighting for equal prize money over the years at US Open

Coco Gauff became only the third American teenager to win the US Open after Tracy Austin and Serena Williams.

WATCH: Coco Gauff thanks Billie Jean King after receiving a $3,000,000 check following fighting for equal prize money over the years at US Open

(L) Coco Gauff and Billie Jean King, (R) Gauff with her US Open trophy (Images via: Imago/X))

Coco Gauff ousted Australian Open champ, Aryna Sabalenka out of her way to win her maiden Grand Slam on Saturday. She thrashed the World No.2 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 6 minutes. Later, when she was presented with a check, Gauff expressed her gratitude to the legendary tennis player, Billie Jean King.

After losing the first set to Sabalenka, Gauff made a staggering comeback into the match. Maintaining her great composure, the 19-year-old took advantage of a slew of mistakes her Belarussian opponent made. The teenager dominated the game, coming on top of Sabalenka with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 score.

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With this achievement, Coco Gauff became only the third American teenager to win the US Open after Tracy Austin and Serena Williams. Post her win and a short speech, Gauff was handed a check worth $ 3 million. The teen accepted the prize and thanked Billie Jean King for fighting for equal prize money at the US Open. “Oh my goodness. Thank you Billie for fighting for this,” Gauff said laughing afterward, clearly overwhelmed.

Former tennis player, Billie Jean King was the trailblazer to demand equal pay from the US Open. She was ranked World No.1 and has a whooping 39 Grand Slam titles under her belt. These include 12 singles titles, 16 women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. She also founded the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) which celebrated 50 years of its formation last month.

Explore: Coco Gauff reveals this is the first time she saw tears in her dad’s eyes after her ‘historic’ US Open triumph over Aryna Sabalenka

Equal pay remains an issue in tennis, 50 years after Billie Jean King fought for it

Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs
Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs (Image via The Hollywood Reporter)

At 29, Billie Jean King went head-to-head against former Men’s World No.1, Bobby Riggs. The match was viewed by an estimated 90 million people worldwide and became one of the most famous “Battle of Sexes” events of all. King won in straight sets scoring 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

King won the singles title at the US Open in 1972. However, she won a cash prize of $10,000 while the Men’s champion earned $25,000. The former Women’s World No.1 threatened to not compete in the tournament next year if the paychecks for the Men’s and Women’s singles champions did not mirror each other. In 1973, the US Open became the first tournament to award equal prize money. Rest of the Majors followed suit in the coming years.

Unfortunately, several other events and tournaments like the WTA 1000 and 500s do not offer equal prize money at combined or non-combined events. WTA has recently committed to secure equal prize money at combined events by 2027. The association will also aim for the same at non-combined events as well by 2033.“Consistent presence of the top athletes at these premium events,” was the reason cited by the WTA for their ambitious targets.

Though some tournaments like the Indian Wells event offer equal prize money to the singles’ title-winners, many others including the Italian Open, Cincinnati Open, Canada Open and Rome Open do not.

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