Former World No. 1
Billie Jean King has stressed the importance of international team events in the sport and envisioned a World Cup tournament with
WTA and
ATP players.
Tennis legend King had a hugely successful career in the 1960s and 70s, with 39 Grand Slam titles to her name across singles and doubles. Moreover, she pushed for a lot of change in the sport - fighting for equal pay between men and women at the 1973 US Open, founding the WTA, and defeating Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes.
Nowadays, the 79-year-old is still thinking about ways to change the game and recently expressed her views and ideas around international team tournaments such as the men's
Davis Cup and the women's
Billie Jean King Cup (BJKC).
King hopes for merger of team tournaments
The Davis Cup and the BJKC both take place in stages throughout the year, with athletes playing for the team of their respective country alongside several of their compatriots in both singles and doubles. The knockout stage of the Davis Cup Finals will be played in Malaga in late November, while the BJKC Finals will be held from November 7-12 in Seville.
Recently, King opened up on why she'd like to see the two tournaments join together to form a mixed-gender World Cup of tennis.
"I think it's really important to have a World Cup for tennis. The whole world understands a World Cup. They know it's country versus country," King said (via BBC).
"I want us together, I always want the men and women together. I think we can enhance it and make more of a focus on us. I think people like it when we are all happy together," she added.
The American went on to praise the values of playing as a team for your country.
"This competition brings other values. You play as a team helping each other, you create this bond and you don't have that on tour.
"To be able to experience that, and leave the ego on the side, I think that's the most amazing feeling that you can have, so I think we need to also tell these kids that it's great to play for your country," she continued.
