After competing at her 24th US Open tournament, two-time champion Venus Williams looked back at her fight to get equal pay for WTA players at Wimbledon.

The five-time Wimbledon champion was vital in fighting for WTA players to receive the same prize money as their male counterparts. Following a two-year battle that saw Williams spearhead the movement, Wimbledon announced both male and female players would receive equal prize money beginning in 2007. Coincidentally, Willams was the first female player to receive it, as she captured the title that year.

"When it happened, it was almost surreal," Williams said at the US Open Champions of Equality inaugural event. "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.

"Lots of people think that was impactful. 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.'

"If you're in the business of change, you have to be prepared to play the long game. 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."