Former world number one
Billie Jean King has once again
advocated for some changes in tennis. The 80-year-old is often regarded as one
of the greatest players in the history of women’s tennis. She finished her career
after winning 12 Grand Slams in the singles category.
Because of her achievements on the tennis court, a
competition has been named after her as well. The California-born legendary
tennis star has recently advocated for a change in tennis rules. She believes
that the points system should be simpler and players should have their names on
the back of their shirts.
“I cannot stand the scoring,” she said back in September in
a social media post. “I think it's hard to get new people into the sport,
particularly young people. I think we should get rid of the 15, 30, 40 game. We
should have 1, 2, 3, 4. If you have to win by two, then at three all do two
points in a row or whatever but get rid of 15, 30, 40. Every player should have
their name and a number on. Why? We need to promote our players like every
other sport does.”
King has once again advocated the same in an interview with
the BBC. The former world number one was of the opinion that she wants these
rules to be changed to make it more interesting for the viewers. "I would
like to see names and numbers on the back of the shirt in tennis," she
said. "I want to make it easy for fans. I think it should be 1-2-3-4 not
15-love, 30-love. If you are a kid - I didn't come from tennis - what the heck
does that mean? If we want to get eight, nine, 10, 11, 12-year-old children
involved in our sport we have to make it accessible to them - not to a
60-year-old fan."