Tennis Superstar Williams on Equal Pay -- and Equal Play

July 26, 2007 — -- Wimbledon champion Venus Williams says it took a lot of work for women to receive equal prize money at the All England Club's grand slam event, but it was worth it. She credits tennis legend Billie Jean King for starting and continuing the push.

"For us, it was about gender equality, not about how much we can get paid, but it was about being on equal terms as human beings," she said.

Williams brought home a hefty paycheck for a fortnight's work at Wimbledon this year -- about $1.41 million -- the same as men's champion Roger Federer. It was the first time in the 123-year history of women's singles at the tournament that men and women were on equal footing -- and 33 years after the U.S Open fell into step.

But long before the grand slam tournaments started awarding the same prize money to men and women, the relatively small-time league of World Team Tennis was formed to promote equal pay -- and equal play -- on the court.

Men and women compete together in the team league format created back in 1974 by Billie Jean King and her then-husband Larry King.

Top players like Venus Williams, her sister Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport, as well as former stars Pete Sampras and John McEnroe, swing a racket for World Team Tennis.

"I just love the atmosphere," Williams said last week, just before her team, the Philadelphia Freedoms, went up against the New York Sportimes in Mamaroneck, N.Y. "When I'm playing Wimbledon for example, it's such a high pressure situation and I don't necessarily get to enjoy that people are enjoying what I do. But when I come out here, I get a chance to entertain the crowd and show my best shots."

Here's how a World Team Tennis match works: Teams go head-to-head in five sets -- men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles. At the end of the match, the team with the most total points is the victor. The players get paid for each game they win.

The four-week professional league helps create buzz for local team tennis leagues across the country.