Billie Jean King Wants Combined Tennis World Cup

By: Gyang Dakwo

American tennis great Billie Jean King called this week for a combined women and men’s World Cup of tennis and for players to wear shirt numbers, to keep growing the sport.

The 39-time Grand Slam winner, including 12 singles titles, said she would bring the women’s Billie Jean King Cup and the men’s Davis Cup together into a World Cup.

Formerly the Federation Cup, the finals of the competition renamed in King’s honour takes place in Seville from November 7-12, while the Davis Cup finals are in Malaga between November 21-26, with both currently labelled the ‘World Cup’ of tennis.

“I want us together, I always want the men and women together. I always want us to be together at tournaments,” King said ahead of the BJK Cup finals. People like it when we’re all happy together.”

King said the influence of football means it is more essential than ever for tennis to have its own recognisable World Cup.

“The World Cup has become more and more important because of the football … the whole world understands World Cup,” she continued.

“When I say we’re the World Cup of women’s tennis, they get it right away, they know it’s country versus country, it’s exciting, it can be any place in the world.

“I went down to the World Cup in Australia and watched the women there, they had 75,000 people . it’s very exciting, the possibilities are unlimited.”

Many star names will be absent from the BJK Cup, including the top four ranked players, with Poland’s Iga Swiatek and American duo Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula unable to play because of their packed schedule.

Aryna Sabalenka, the current world number one, is not involved because her country Belarus was suspended from participating after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.