High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 1971 Virginia Slims Circuit was the first annual Virginia Slims Circuit, a tour of tennis tournaments for female tennis players, sponsored by Virginia Slims cigarettes. Prior to the establishment of this circuit there was a huge inequality between the prize money purses for male and female tennis players which gave rise to complaints from a number of the leading female tennis players of the time. These players included Billy Jean King and became known as the "Original 9" after being banned from the events run by the hugely influential United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) due to their boycotting of the Pacific Southwest Championships. This resulted in the first Virginia Slims-sponsored event being held in September 1970 in Dallas, an event which laid the groundwork for the establishment of the annual Virginia Slims Circuit the following year. In 1971 the total prize money available from the Virginia Slims events was $309,100 and Billie Jean King became the first female athlete in history to earn more than $100,000 in one season.