The Fed Cup is changing its name to honour tennis great Billie Jean King, the woman whose lifelong battle for equality and social justice laid the foundation for generations that followed.
The Billie Jean King Cup will become the first major global team competition to be named after a woman, the International Tennis Federation said Thursday.
“I’m still in shock,” the 76-year-old King said of the tribute. “It’s really a privilege, and it’s also a responsibility. It’s wild, it’s great, it’s wonderful.”
The rebranding follows earlier changes to bring prize money in line with the men’s Davis Cup and coincides with the 50th anniversary of King’s pioneering effort to launch a women’s pro tennis circuit.
“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.”
King and her peers, known as the “Original 9,” risked their careers to start the Virginia Slims tour. Their work led to the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973 as the organizing body for women’s professional tennis.
King’s early efforts led to the lucrative prize funds and multimillion-dollar endorsement deals enjoyed today by top players like Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.
“Today, the players are living our dream, and we’re thrilled for them,” King said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the announcement. “Women’s tennis is the leader in women’s sports. We are also leaders in the fight for justice and equality.”
Osaka, who took stances against racial injustice en route to her U.S. Open victory, said the newly named tournament will “mean a lot more” now.
“For me, she’s truly an inspiration and she always texts me really nice messages,” the 22-year-old Osaka said. “It’s always very nice to see someone so respected just care so much about the game.”
King won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, including six at Wimbledon. But her most famous match came in 1973 when she beat 55-year-old Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in the “Battle of the Sexes.” The match, considered to be a milestone in the promotion of women’s equality, was watched on TV by millions around the world.
King’s association with the Fed Cup goes back to its founding, when she was a member of the U.S. team that won the inaugural tournament in 1963 at Queen’s Club in London.
Then 19 years old, she recalled prodding her teammates: “This is history being made. We have to win it, so we always know we were the first. Come on! They said, Oh god, not you again. We know what the deal is.”
King, as a player and coach, won the Fed Cup trophy 10 times — a record for an individual. She was appointed as the competition’s first global ambassador in 2019.
Sixteen nations competed the first time, whereas 116 entered for 2020. Twelve teams play in the Finals.
“The goal is to continue that outreach and Billie as an iconic figure, who is so well known, can help us do that,” Haggerty said.
The Davis Cup — named for Dwight Davis, who played in the inaugural tournament in 1900 — has more nations and 18 spots in its Finals.
“I’d like to get more countries,” King said. “We have 116, the guys have 142. The cultures are different in a lot of countries. We’re going to have a lot of work ahead of us to break things down.”
The Billie Jean King Cup Finals are scheduled for April 13-18 in Budapest, Hungary. King said she “absolutely” will attend in April unless there are coronavirus roadblocks.
The 2020 Finals for both tournaments were scrapped this year because of the pandemic, although qualifying nations will maintain their places for the 2021 Finals.
King, the winner of 39 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles, said she’s “so fortunate” to be honoured by the ITF. She recalled the late tennis journalist Bud Collins proposing a Fed Cup name change years ago.
“He said it had a horrible name. I had heard then that they were talking about naming me, or Chris Evert, or maybe another player,” King said. “It never came to fruition through the years. I know how lucky I am and blessed. People have always championed me.”
During Thursday’s news conference, King said she was motivated to create change because no one likes to be discounted, whether it’s by gender, race or sexual orientation. King, a lesbian, said she hopes to see openly gay players in men’s professional tennis but they are reluctant because “other men give them such a bad time.”
“So we need to make it accepted and also celebrated when somebody is their authentic self,” she said. “We need to keep breaking down these barriers. I pray that someday the first male will speak up and come out and start change in the men’s side.”
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The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
