Sandra & Peter-Michael Reichel attend WTA 50th Anniversary Gala in New York

50 years Women's Tennis Association - if that's not a reason to celebrate! Sandra Reichel, the tournament director of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz and tournament founder Peter-Michael Reichel were guests at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York at the weekend and celebrated the 50th anniversary of the WTA with former, current and future stars of women's tennis. 

It was a memorable evening, with everyone involved reminiscing. Broadway star Bre Jackson performed "The Room Where it Happens" from "Hamilton" before 14 of the founding members, who were welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation at London's Gloucester Hotel. "I'm inspired by every single player who is on the tour in the spirit of this vision that brought us together in 1973," said Billie Jean King, whose initiative was largely responsible for ensuring that equal prize money was paid to men and women for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament at the 1973 US Open.

"It was a truly moving and inspiring evening, which not only showed us what the WTA has already achieved in the last 50 years, but also that together we are strong enough to take on and master future challenges. We are looking forward to actively shaping the coming decades of the WTA Tour," said Sandra Reichel, who will continue to organize the WTA tournament in Hamburg in addition to Austria's largest women's sporting event. Peter Michael Reichel, who launched the Upper Austrian women's tennis classic more than 30 years ago, has now been a member of the WTA's "Board of Directors" for more than 23 years.

After interviews with Chris Evert, Tracy Austin and Gabriela Sabatini, and speeches from Coco Gauff, WTA CEO Steve Simon, WTA President Micky Lawler and US Open Tournament Director Bob Moran, the closing words of the evening belonged to Charlotte, Tatjana Maria's 10-year-old daughter. "Thank you so much, Billie Jean King for all that you do for the players and, by extension, for my mom, who inspires me so much. My dream of becoming a professional player too has just begun," Charlotte said before hugging Billie Jean King. Here's to the next 50 years!