As the 50th year of the WTA Tour comes to an end, a look ahead to its next fifty

Tennis Channel's year-long celebration of the WTA Tour's 50th anniversary, brought to you by Intuit Quickbooks, continues with Chapter 11: A History of Activism (Watch our feature video above.)

• For Chapter 1: Thank You, Gladys, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 2: Red Hot Women's Tennis, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 3: Chrissie & Martina, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 4: Steffi & Monica, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 5: Venus & Serena, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 6: Teenage Dream, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 7, The Future is Now, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 8, Global Reach, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 9, Wide Range of Styles, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 10, Crossover Icons, CLICK HERE
• For Chapter 11, A History of Activism, CLICK HERE

I never think about the future. It comes soon enough. Albert Einstein

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is now 50 years old. So much has happened over that time. A tour that began with a $7,500 event in Houston has grown into a multi-million-dollar circuit, played on every possible continent.

So what might the next half-century look like—both for the WTA’s many players and its millions of fans?

Unquestionably, the quality of tennis will continue to improve. Over the last 50 years, money has ushered in a whole new level of professionalism, in everything from instruction to fitness to equipment, training, preparation and analysis. That figures to only accelerate. As WTA founder Billie Jean King once said as she watched players compete decades after her prime, “Bigger, faster, stronger—better.”

It will be intriguing to see how this plays out on the court. It’s logical to assume that balls will be hit harder. But will a new racquet, string technology, or stroke technique emerge that could greatly impact speed, spin, direction and angle? How might playing styles alter? Will a player serve lefty and righty? What’s to come of the one-handed backhand? Might there also be more all-court play, perhaps even sprinklings of the serve-and-volley style that helped King and Martina Navratilova earn a collective 98 Grand Slam titles?

Then there are new diagnostic technologies that are only just emerging. No doubt, this will take analytics to even higher levels.

“AI will change the way tennis is played,” says Jan Kees Mons, who writes Sport Tomorrow, a blog focused on innovation and the future of sports. “Algorithms will provide much deeper insights into strengths, weaknesses and strategic opportunities of players, and AI-steered coaching tools may assist players in refining their skills and making data driven decisions during matches.”

Careers, already longer than ever as the 21^st century has unfolded, will go even further as players gain more knowledge about fitness, nutrition and training techniques. Back in 2006, it was remarkable when Navratilova won the US Open mixed doubles title a month short of turning 50. Might it be possible for a 50-year-old to earn a singles major? Will a mother, daughter or even grand-daughter partner?

But how the game is played comprises only one part in shaping the future of the WTA. There’s also the matter of captivating fans. Those who’ve made the tour happen have long known this. Back in 1970, the fledgling tour’s first leader, Gladys Heldman, found its major sponsor, Virginia Slims. In those early years, players took a hands-on role in promoting events in cities all over North America. They handed out flyers in the streets, frequently conducted clinics, participated in Pro-Ams, visited sponsors and made themselves available to the media for everything from pre-dawn radio shows to post-midnight interviews.

Moving forward, blossoming technologies figure to take spectator involvement to new levels of connection. According to Mons, “Audiences will immerse themselves in a virtual or augmented tennis environment, providing a more interactive and personalized viewing experience—player data/facts, stats, animated characters, and you name it. This can be either at home or in an arena.

"Additionally think of AI-driven analytics which could offer real-time insight in strategies. Also expect fan engagement in matches—interactive features, polls, virtual cheering and participation.”

These shifts will also offer opportunities for corporations seeking to get involved with pro tennis.

“Sponsors now are drawn into tennis due to its global reach, diverse fanbase and the traditional appeal of the big tournaments,” says Mons. “In the future this may change more towards digital engagement, tennis influencers . . . innovative fan experiences, inclusion and global and digital reach.”

And yet, as these new possibilities blossom, the social consciousness that has always been at the root of the WTA remains.

“We also must acknowledge the issue of climate change and what intensifying heat, floods and fires mean for our future,” wrote King and Cynthia Starr in the 2023 book, Trailblazers: The Unmatched Story of Women’s Tennis. King cites the importance of green initiatives, as well as a recommendation that solar panels be installed on the roof of every indoor tennis facility.

Finally, there is the matter of leadership—in tennis, in sports, in society.

“Women’s tennis has set the bar in its quest for excellence, equity, and diversity in women’s sports,” wrote King and Starr. “I hope we continue to be the leaders in women’s sports for the next fifty years. We have come a long way, to be sure, but continuous improvement is our goal. And that is a journey that never ends.”