She’s one of the most successful players in tennis history, so it should come as no surprise that people are really looking forward to watching Serena Williams pursuit of the Grand Slam—winning all four major tennis competitions (the Australian, French and US Opens, and Wimbledon) in one season.
The US Open final, scheduled for Sept. 12, could see Williams competing for what would be her 22nd major title, which would bring her level with Germany’s Steffi Graf, and only second behind Australian Margaret Court, who won 24 majors.
But whether or not Williams wins, she has already made history: the excitement for the match is so high that, for what’s believed to be the first time in history, tickets for the women’s singles final sold out before the men’s, according to ESPN. A tournament official told ESPN that some seats for the day are trading at around three times their typical value, and ticket resellers report one of the smallest gaps ever seen between the average prices for the men’s and women’s finals.
As Quartz has reported before, professional tennis is the only sport where women are paid anything close to men at the highest levels. Grand Slam tournaments award equal prize money to both genders, unlike most of the showpiece competitions in other sports. That builds interest and popularity in the women’s game to rival the men’s during major competitions—and then some.
