How Title IX Built US Women’s Tennis

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How Title IX Built US Women’s Tennis

For decades, US women have carried the Grand Slam torch, and in 2025, the trend is more alive than ever. Gauff, Keys, Pegula, Anisimova, and Navarro headline a wave of US women who dominate the game’s biggest stages. Four straight Slam finals have featured a US woman. Two Grand Slam winners.

That strength shows up in the 2025 US Open draw: six US women are seeded, more than any other nation. Gauff (#3), Pegula (#4), Keys (#6), Anisimova (#8), Navarro (#10), and Kessler (#32) form the deepest national presence at the tournament.

But this dominance didn’t happen by accident. It traces back more than 50 years, to Title IX, the landmark US law that required equal opportunity for women in education—including sports.

What Is Title IX?

Passed in 1972, Title IX prohibited sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools and universities. While its language never mentioned “sports,” its ripple effects transformed athletics in the US. Suddenly, high schools and colleges had to create programs, scholarships, and infrastructure for female athletes.

That meant more courts, more scholarships, more coaches—and most importantly—a cultural expectation that girls would play sports just as boys did.

How It Shaped Tennis

Tennis was already unique: it was one of the rare sports where women could earn prize money and media attention, especially after Billie Jean King’s 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” win. Title IX supercharged that pipeline.

  • College tennis as a development weapon: Navarro, Kessler, Stearns, and Collins all sharpened their games in NCAA competition, a luxury few European or Asian players have. That system exists because Title IX forced universities to fund women’s tennis scholarships.

  • Access to coaching and resources: Players like Anisimova and Kenin benefited from USTA programs, but their early opportunities—public courts, travel teams, scholarships—flowed from a Title IX culture where female athletic dreams were legitimate.

  • Role models and representation: Without Title IX, Serena and Venus Williams may have remained outliers. Instead, they became cultural icons in a system designed to nurture and multiply talent. Gauff and Keys are their direct heirs.

Why the US Leads the World

Many countries have talented female players, but few have the same critical mass. About 35% of US girls play sports regularly between ages 6–17. That’s unmatched globally.

The result? Depth. The US has Slam champions (Gauff, Keys, Kenin), Slam finalists (Anisimova, Pegula), rising stars (Navarro, Krueger, Stearns), and teenage prodigies (Jović). Title IX built not just one star, but a production line of champions.

The US has proven what happens when a country commits to equity in sports. Fifty years on, Title IX’s fingerprints are all over the US Open draw sheet.

Wrap

Title IX gave US girls permission to dream—and the resources to chase those dreams. The next US Slam champion won’t just be a product of talent and hard work. She’ll also be a child of Title IX.

P.S. In the spirit of full disclosure… Pam and I have six granddaughters. So yes, I may be a little biased when it comes to celebrating the future of girls’ sports