Venus Williams: ‘I Never Planned on Being an Activist; I Just Planned on Being a Tennis Player’

For this year's Women of the Year issue, we invited a few of our prior winners to revisit their honoring—and reflect on the work they've done since. First up? 2005 Woman of the Year Venus Williams. In 2005, Williams was dominating the tennis court. But behind the scenes she was leading the crusade for women to earn equal prize money at Wimbledon. In a year when we've seen female athletes stand up and demand what we've deserved—just look at our 2019 Woman of the Year Megan Rapinoe, and the rest of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team—we asked Williams to open up about her work as an equal-pay pioneer. Read on to hear Williams in her own words, and head here to buy your tickets for our annual summit and awards ceremony in New York City on November 10 and 11.

When I was named Woman of the Year in 2005, I had just won Wimbledon for the third time. But off the court I was fighting a different battle: The day before my final match, I attended a meeting to discuss the gap in prize money for men and women at the tournament. I asked everyone at the meeting to close their eyes and try to feel the person next to them. I asked, “Can you tell if that person is a man or a woman?” I wanted to illustrate that all of our hearts beat the same rhythm, regardless of gender.

It took another two years of my working with the Women’s Tennis Association—and writing an op-ed for the Times of London that went viral—before the organizers agreed to close the gap. When I won Wimbledon again in 2007, I became the first woman to receive equal prize money there. I was the first woman who could go into the finals focusing entirely on her game instead of thinking, Hey, I’m not equal here.

And were there critics? People who wanted me to just be quiet and play? Sure. But I let my racket do the talking, which is what we’re now seeing with the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Their World Cup win this summer made women’s soccer incredibly popular—and visible. They’re making the right moves to stand up, fight, and prove their worth by excelling at their sport. To me, that’s the only way to do it. Growing up, I was taught that if I saw something that wasn’t right, I had to do something, say something, and not censor myself.

There’s still a lot of progress to be made in women’s sports—and it’s going slowly. Now, 14 years after I began my crusade for equal pay, what makes me the happiest is that I’ve been able to inspire other women to do the same. I never planned on being an activist; I just planned on being a tennis player. But it’s exciting to see female athletes fight for change. It’s what I love about sports. The stakes are real.

Venus Williams is a five-time Wimbledon champion, the president and principal of V Starr Interiors, and the CEO and founder of EleVen by Venus Williams.

Originally Appeared on Glamour