Venus and Serena Williams made their feelings clear on gender pay gap after tennis made major decision no other sport has

As calls for fair pay for female athletes grow in the world of sport, authorities in basketball and football could take a leaf out of tennis' book in paying all stars the same amount.

WNBA players wore protest t-shirts ahead of their recent All-Stars game reading 'Pay us what you owe us', escalating a long-running dispute between players and the league. Players are asking for a higher percentage of shared revenues from WNBA profits, which currently entitle them to around 25 per cent of league revenues. However, NBA players in comparison are guaranteed 50 per cent of profits on top of their significantly higher base salaries.

The pay gap is nothing new in sport, with WNBA players keen to highlight that they are only asking for an equal percentage of league revenue rather than equal money.

WNBA players are protesting for a fairer pay deal. (Image: Getty)

Women's soccer players in the US have long called for equal pay deals, particularly when they have been world champions and Olympic gold medallists in recent years, with football associations slowly coming round to making equal pay deals with their national teams. The English FA, for example, introduced equal pay for appearance money and bonuses for its men and women teams in 2020, however men can still earn much more from tournaments due to unequal prize money on offer from FIFA and UEFA.

England women will be entitled to a share of a record £34 million prize money on offer for Euro 2025, when they face Spain in Sunday's final. That represents a huge increase from the £14 million total prize pot when England won Euro 2022 but still only around 10 per cent of the £330 million that was shared between clubs at the men's Euro 2024 competition.

England Women won Euro 2022 but only earned a share of a £14 million prize fund. (Image: Getty)

Venus and Serena Williams speak out

In tennis, one of the few sports which rewards male and female athletes equally at the top level, things are a little different. From as far back as 2007, the four Grand Slam tournaments have all paid their players equally in terms of prize money regardless of gender.

Two of tennis' biggest ever stars, Venus and Serena Williams, have been outspoken advocates for equal pay - although Serena admitted that equal pay across female sport will take time when speaking back in 2022.

"You just can't expect things to change overnight," Williams said. "I like that people are starting to recognize that women do deserve equal pay and they deserve the same that a male gets," she said.

While sister Venus, who hit the headlines this week after becoming the second-oldest woman to win a WTA Tour-level singles match, recalled her role in achieving equal prize money at Wimbledon ahead of the 2007 announcement. She had lobbied tournament organisers behind the scenes and also written in the Times to call for change, and said of her fight in 2023: "When it happened, it was almost surreal. I think there's a part of you that -- it's sad to say -- that gets so used to not having it that I just assumed we're going to be fighting for another 20 years."

She spoke about an off-record meeting at Wimbledon before tournaments where she would make her case for equal pay before later being rejected, only for her to change tactic shortly before the rules were changed.

Venus Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a WTA Tour-level singles match this week. (Image: Getty)

"At that point I went into this room and I asked everyone to close their eyes. I said, 'Now that your eyes are closed, you don't know if that person next to you is a man or a woman, but everyone's heart beats the same way. Would you want your daughter or your sister or your mother or your wife or a loved one that was a woman to be paid less?'

"Then I left. I bounced. I had to go. I didn't stay for the whole meeting.

"Lots of people think that was impactful," Williams said. "It was just the truth. A lot of the times you can't beat the truth. When you stand up for what's right -- that's what my mom was all about. I learned that from her. I think that's why I spoke out -- because my mom said, 'There's something wrong, you stand up for it.'

However, Venus agreed with her sister when cautioning for patience in the battle for equality.

"If you're in the business of change, you have to be prepared to play the long game," she wrote in 2023. "Progress is slow; often agonizingly so. It's seldom easy; in fact, it’s pretty near always tough. But the tough thing and the right thing are often the same thing. And equality is a great thing. Maybe the most important thing."