The Fed Cup will be renamed as Billie Jean King Cup, the International Tennis Federation announced on Thursday. Almost six decades after K...
The Fed Cup will be renamed as Billie Jean King Cup, the International Tennis Federation announced on Thursday.
Almost six decades after King helped the US to win the inagural Fed Cup, the tournament becomes the first tennis competition to be named after a woman.
The ITF said that the change of name is being done to honour King considered the greatest trailblazer in women’s tennis for her lifelong battle for equality and social justice.
“We feel it’s long overdue,” ITF president David Haggerty said.
“All major team competitions, including Davis Cup, are named after men, and we think it’s really fitting that the women’s world cup of tennis would be named after someone as iconic as Billie Jean King, who changed the face of women’s sports,” he added.
Be bold. Make history.
— Billie Jean King Cup (@FedCup) September 17, 2020
Fed Cup is now the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas#BillieJeanKingCup pic.twitter.com/jf8NJm2oZE
King said she was surprised with the announcement but accepted it as an honour.
“It’s really a privilege, and it’s also a responsibility. It’s wild, it’s great, it’s wonderful,” King said reacting to the development.
The competition was revamped earlier this year and would feature 12-nation finals week to rival the men’s Davis Cup.
This year’s finals, scheduled for Budapest in April, were postponed for a year because...
