How a generation of tennis players changed the world in the 1970s and 1980s
Watch Gods of Tennis on on BBC Two on Sunday, 4 June at 21:00 GMT and onA new BBC documentary series - Gods of Tennis - takes viewers back to the 1970s and 1980s to explore how a generation of megastars truly put the sport on the map.
Commercial success followed, and some players used their increased profile to help drive social change. Ashe, who grew up under segregation in Virginia in the United States, made his participation contingent on one stipulation.For the first time in South African history, Mathabane adds, black people were able to play and spectate at the tournament.
The following year, King formed the Women's Tennis Association , with a mission to achieve equal pay. Later that year, the US Open introduced equal pay for male and female players. The Australian Open began offering equal prize money in 1984, but reversed that decision in 1996, then again in 2001. The French Open and Wimbledon introduced parity in 2007.McEnroe was nearly ejected from Wimbledon in 1981 for his outbursts.Towards the end of the decade, though, a perfect foil for the smooth Swede emerged in the form of brash American McEnroe.
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