New WTA CEO Portia Archer speaks in Cincinnati, commits to tour's long-term goal of pay equity

Newly-minted WTA CEO Portia Archer already has big goals for the storied organization.

The former basketball executive, who succeeded Steve Simon in the role on July 29, sat down with Prakash Amritraj on Tennis Channel in the early days of the Cinninati Open this week for her first wide-ranging interview since taking the post. Archer has already jumped into the role with both feet, having attended the National Bank Open in Toronto last week, and after stopping in Cincinnati, will continue on to Cleveland as she continues what she describes as her "listening and learning" tour. She joined the organization after most recently spending time as the chief operating officer of the NBA G League.

"I think this is a wonderful and interesting time in the sport of tennis," Archer said. "It's early days; I've had an opportunity to get out into the marketplace a little bit ... for me, it's been important to lean into tennis, into the environment of tennis.

"Being at the tournaments, meeting the players, listening and learning, feeling, touching, smelling the sport of tennis has been really valuable to me. One thing I've noticed in my short time is that there is this sense of community, and there is this sense of family within tennis as a sport, and certainly within the WTA, so that's been really lovely to experience and be a part of."

With more than 20 years in sports business, Archer has also overseen growth at HBO and NBC Sports. But despite less than a month of service in her role, Archer already can freely discussed her goals, which include "leaning into the fans and the fan experience," and "continuing to be a champion for our players. She says that the WTA is the "very best platform" for players, and to elevate women and women's sports.

That includes doubling down on the WTA's commitment to pay equity; while there is already equal prize money for women at the four Grand Slams and select joint ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments, the tour announced last year that it hopes to bridge the gap at the others by 2027. Cinncinati, for example, is one such place; this year's men's champion takes home more than $1 million, while the women's winner is paid just over $523,000.

"There's a lot of interest and demand for our sport," Archer said. "We've got wonderful athletes and stars participating, so continuing to work with the tournaments to make sure that the experience for everyone involved is one that's at a great level and a high standard is an important area of focus for me.

"Women's sport is in a fantastic place. It's certainly on the rise. We've accomplished a lot within women's sports. I don't think it's a time; it's a moment, and I think that moment will continue and continue and continue. In fact, I don't think it's a moment. It's a movement that we're starting to experience in women's sport, and it's exciting to be a part of it."

With the WTA already having been at the forefront of women's equality in sports—ahead of the 1973 US Open, for example, the tour's co-founder Billie Jean King pushed to have the tournmament offer equal prize money for men and women, which it eventually did that year—Archer says that standing on the shoulders of those who've come before can only help to achieve the tour's long-term vision for gender parity, not just in sports, but in the world at large.

Read more: Tennis Canada goes purple in salute to gender equity

"We've made some progress, we've got a lot more work to do to advance women, to elevate women, so that women get what they really have earned and what they deserve in sports and in society, in a larger context as well," she continued. "The WTA is focused on that. We have a plan that we've laid out, and a road map, to pay equality, and in my role, I'm going to be participating and contributing to that effort and making sure we execute according to that plan.

We'll get that done on behalf of women, and it's a privilege in many ways to be a part of this effort to continue to advance and elevate women. The WTA has been a leader in that effort, and I've long admired the WTA's efforts and their leadership in this area."