Former World No.3 Pam Shriver has called upon WTA stars past and present to form a syndicate through which they could purchase the Internazionali BNL D'Italia Rome, in order to improve the conditions for female tennis players.
The former US Open finalist took to Twitter to call for a change in the tournament direction.
“It’s time to get a former @WTA player syndicate together (MN, CE, BJK, MS, SW, VW, KC,LD…) and buy the women’s Italian Open tournament, put a female tournament director in place and either it stays in Rome with equal prize money or find a new city. @SerenaVentures let’s do this!” wrote the retired American player.
Following her retirement from the sport, Shriver has taken up tennis commentary and analysis for ESPN and BBC. The 59-year old is often outspoken regarding issues surrounding gender equality, especially when it comes to female athletes.
Williams is a four-time champion in Rome, and participated in the tournament last year. It was in fact, the only WTA 1000 event that the 23-time Grand Slam champion competed at in 2021, losing in the second round to Nadia Podoroska.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
It’s time to get a former @WTA player syndicate together (MN, CE, BJK, MS, SW, VW, KC,LD…) and buy the women’s Italian Open tournament, put a female tournament director in place and either it stays in Rome with equal prize money or find a new city. @SerenaVentures let’s do this!