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Former WTA World No. 1 Billie Jean King has called for players to give more importance to international team events. The tennis great also spoke about her desire to see a combined men's and women's international event akin to a World Cup.
The men's and women's tours have separate international team events, the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup (BJKC) respectively. Both are marketed as 'the World Cup of tennis.'
Eight teams compete in the knockout stage of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in late November. On the other hand, many countries enter the BJKC and fight for a place in the Finals, with 2023 seeing a record 134 nations entering the event.
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Both events will take place next month, with the Davis Cup scheduled from November 21 to 26 and the BJKC from November 7 to 12 November.
King, a 12-time singles Grand Slam champion, has stated that she would like to see BJKC combined with the Davis Cup and become the 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," she 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 79-year-old further stated that playing in team events helps players learn a lot of values and gives players pride in representing their countries at the highest level.
"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 expressed.
"I think you should ask the WTA" - Billie Jean King on the top four players missing the 2023 event
While the Billie Jean King Cup has been a popular tournament, one constant issue for the event has been schedule clashes.
This year, the WTA Finals are set to be held in Cancun, Mexico, one week before the Billie Jean King Cup Finals (BJKC) get underway in Sevilla, Spain. This means the WTA tour's top four players won't be in action in the BJKC.
Aryna Sabalenka will be absent because Belarus has been banned from team competition since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula, on the other hand, are skipping the event citing the packed tennis calendar.
Former World No. 1 King has defended the BJKC and laid the blame on the WTA for the packed schedule for the players.
"We've had our date for a long time - I think you should ask the WTA. They're the one that put their date in a few weeks before they played. I think we all need to get together and figure out a better calendar for the players because you can't start making these decisions on the Finals in September," she expressed.
