Pam Shriver urges Serena Williams, Billie Jean King & other players to form a syndicate to buy Italian Open in a bid for equal prize money 

Former player Pam Shriver has called upon Billie Jean King, Serena Williams and several other players to form a syndicate and buy the Italian Open event.

Shriver's proposal comes in a bid to bring more parity in terms of prize money between the men's and women's events, a cause that many current and past female players have been fighting for over the years.

The disparity in prize money between the men's and women's events at the Italian Open was a major talking point during the event in Rome last week. While the men's event had a prize pool of €5,415,410, the women's tournament offered less than half that amount.

The prize money earned by the Italian Open men's singles champion was €836,355, against just €332,260 earned by the women's champion. Similarly, the men's singles finalist earned €456,720 as compared to the €195,813 offered to the women's finalist.

Shriver feels the likes of Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and a few other great players could come together to sort out the issue. She urged Serena Ventures, Serena Williams' investment firm, to help put the plan in motion.

In a recent social media post, Shriver put across her idea for equal pay at the Italian Open.

"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!" said Shriver.

The American tennis great wants to see the appointment of a female tournament director who can introduce equal prize money for the women's event, in tune with the men's tournament.

There have been calls from many tennis fans and former players alike to remedy the pay disparity. Martina Navratilova, one of the greatest players of all time, also weighed in on the matter.

Serena Williams hints at comeback at 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Day Two: The Championships - Wimbledon 2021

In a great bit of news for fans, Serena Williams recently hinted at a comeback. She posted a video of herself in a training session after a long time out due to injury.

Williams is expected to play at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, exactly a year since she last appeared on tour.

Chasing a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, Serena Williams was forced to retire at last year's Wimbledon Championships after suffering a foot injury in her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The seven-time Wimbledon champion has been on the sidelines ever since.