Names on shirts & stop moaning about long seasons - King's vision for tennis

Billie Jean King turns 81 adjacent week, but does not privation tennis targeted astatine radical similar her.

Instead, she wants to spot names and numbers connected the backmost of shirts and a simplified scoring strategy to entice the young.

And adjacent though the victor of 39 Grand Slam titles is conflicted by the WTA's determination into Saudi Arabia, she thinks a pistillate satellite fig 1 from the Middle East "could power successful a immense way".

In a wide-ranging interrogation with BBC Sport successful Malaga to people the commencement of the women's squad contention which bears her name, the Billie Jean King Cup, she besides had beardown words for players who kick astir the magnitude of the play earlier signing up for lucrative accumulation events.

And connected Emma Raducanu - to whom she presented the US Open trophy successful 2021 - she says she does not similar to justice players for astatine slightest 18 months aft they person returned from a important injury.

King co-founded World Team Tennis successful 1974, but not galore innovations of that yearly summertime nonrecreational mixed league - which has not taken spot since 2021 - person been adopted by the main tours.

"I would similar to spot names and numbers connected the backmost of the garment successful tennis," she said.

"I privation to marque it casual for fans. I deliberation it should beryllium 1-2-3-4 not 15-love, 30-love.

"If you are a kid - I didn't travel from tennis - what the heck does that mean? If we privation to get eight, nine, 10, 11, 12-year-old children progressive successful our athletics we person to marque it accessible to them - not to a 60-year-old fan."

Poland's Iga Swiatek and Italy's Jasmine Paolini are the lone top-10 singles players competing successful the Billie Jean King Cup Finals this week.

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and Barbora Krejcikova are each absent. Injuries are a factor, but the prevailing crushed is the magnitude of a play which began with the United Cup connected 29 December past year.

King besides believes the twelvemonth is excessively long, and says she would reason the regular WTA Tour play astatine September's US Open earlier rounding the twelvemonth disconnected with a abbreviated play of squad competitions.

"It's truthful absorbing however they ever kick it's excessively much," she said.

"They've been doing this everlastingly by the mode - but past they get a period disconnected and they spell play exhibitions.

"I spell really? You guys said you needed the rest. Don't archer maine you deliberation the play is excessively long. I cognize if there's capable wealth you spell and you play. It's a truly pugnacious statement for maine to perceive to the players."

In caller months, King has kept an unfastened caput astir whether the WTA Finals should beryllium staged successful Saudi Arabia.

The determination to clasp the year-end tourney successful Riyadh was criticised by immoderate due to the fact that of the country's quality rights record.

Homosexuality is amerciable successful Saudi Arabia, portion Amnesty International has cited the country's "jailing of women's rights activists, suppression of escaped code and rampant usage of the decease penalty".

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert considered the awarding of the Finals to Riyadh for a three-year word to beryllium a "step backward" for women's tennis, but King, who is gay, argued it was important astatine slightest to prosecute with the Saudi authorities.

And present the archetypal variation of the tourney has been completed, King says it is clip for the WTA Tour and the players to determine if this should beryllium a semipermanent arrangement.

"I deliberation they person to decide. I cognize they [the Saudi Federation] did a batch of programmes. Let's spot if they stay, let's spot what happens.

"It's a truly hard one. For the girls that unrecorded there, I privation them to spot the champion too. I would emotion to spot a pistillate subordinate travel retired of the Middle East arsenic the fig 1 successful the satellite arsenic she could power successful a immense mode I think."

Great Britain are trying to triumph the Billie Jean King Cup for the archetypal time, and commencement their run against Germany connected Friday.

In their apical 2 singles players, Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu, King sees 1 who needs clip and different who deserves greater appreciation.

"Katie Boulter, radical should wage attraction to her," she said.

"I've been watching her for astir 5 years present and each twelvemonth she has got a small spot amended - I don't deliberation radical admit her enough. She's got quicker, she's got much consistent."

Raducanu is completing her archetypal play aft 8 months disconnected circuit to retrieve from manus and ankle operations. This twelvemonth she reached the 4th circular of Wimbledon and a satellite ranking of 58th contempt a caller ft wounded and choosing a minimal docket successful the pb up to the US Open.

"If she tin enactment steadfast agelong enough, past we'll spot however bully she is," King said.

"But if you support getting injured, you ne'er get that momentum going. If you've been injured - truly injured - I ever privation to springiness a subordinate astatine slightest a twelvemonth and a fractional to recover.

"It takes a batch to travel backmost from wounded and you person got to beryllium precise patient."