Women’s Tennis: A Very Big Deal
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d2lkdGg6MTAwJTtoZWlnaHQ6YXV0bzt3aWR0aDphdXRvO3RyYW5zaXRpb246dHJhbnNmb3JtIDAuMjVzIGVhc2V9LnRiLWltYWdlIC50Yi1pbWFnZS1jYXB0aW9uLWZpdC10by1pbWFnZXtkaXNwbGF5OnRhYmxlfS50Yi1pbWFnZSAudGItaW1hZ2UtY2FwdGlvbi1maXQtdG8taW1hZ2UgLnRiLWltYWdlLWNhcHRpb257ZGlzcGxheTp0YWJsZS1jYXB0aW9uO2NhcHRpb24tc2lkZTpib3R0b219IH0g
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and Perform, a British media company, signed a 10-year, $535 million deal for broadcast rights to every WTA tournament in its annual calendar.
This is the largest commercial contract in the history of women's sports.
Heather Bowler of the WTA explained, "This is a defining moment not just for women's tennis, but for women's sport in general."
There is still a huge gender monetary gap between men and women, however. Consider, for example, that in the UK the top five athlete sponsorships for men in 2013 were worth $927 million. The equivalent figure for the top five women athletes in the UK in 2013 was $2.2 million.
The gap is closing, but the glass ceiling has not been lifted yet.
