Tennis legend Billie Jean King is open to seeing the eponymous women’s cup competition be combined with the men’s Davis Cup into one World Cup of tennis. 

Confirmed:

• “I think it’s really important to have a World Cup for tennis,” said King
• “The whole world understands a World Cup. They know it’s country versus country,” she added
• 39-time Grand Slam winner wants to see men and women play together and “enhance it” 

Context:

King has acknowledged there are “a thousand questions” that would need sorting before the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup could unite. The women’s tournament’s director Conchita Martinez has said she would be in favour of the move, provided women get equal time on the show courts and the same access to practice courts. 

Both the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup are already marketed as ‘the World Cup of tennis’, but the former will have none of the world’s top four players competing. Aryna Sabalenka will be a no-show because Belarus has been banned from team competition since the invasion of Ukraine, while Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are not taking part due to the punishing schedule. 

The Davis Cup, meanwhile, is looking for new backers to stay relevant on the increasingly packed tennis calendar after its 25-year, US$3 billion agreement with Kosmos signed in 2018 was cut short in January.

Comment:

“I want us together, I always want the men and women together,” said King. “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.”

Coming Next:

This year’s Billie Jean King Cup finals takes place from 7th to 12th November, while the Davis Cup finals is due to wrap up on 26th November.