The ITF has announced that Fed Cup, the women\u2019s world cup of tennis, has been renamed the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the first\ntime a major global team competition has been named after a woman, ushering in\na new era for the historic tournament and representing a landmark moment for\nsport. A champion on the court and a\npioneer off it, Billie Jean King is a global campaigner for equality who has\ndedicated her life to fighting discrimination in all its forms. The values she\nrepresents epitomise the ethos of a tournament that has evolved to become the\nlargest annual international team competition in women\u2019s sport, with 116\nnations entered in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rename also\nfollows the introduction of a new finals format that will bring the 12 best\nnations together over one week in Budapest to compete to become world champions.\nFrom 2021, under its new name, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will award the\nbiggest annual prize fund in women\u2019s team sports \u2013 equivalent to that offered\nto the men playing Davis Cup Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ITF President\nDavid Haggerty said, \u201cFrom playing the first Fed Cup as a member of the\nvictorious US team in 1963, founding the WTA and becoming its first President,\nto being the first female athlete awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom,\nBillie Jean King has never stopped breaking new ground. Today she adds another\n\u2018first\u2019 to that list. The new name is a fitting tribute to everything she has\nachieved and will provide a lasting legacy that will inspire future generations\nof players and fans.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
King\u2019s close\npersonal association with the Fed Cup began at the inaugural tournament and was\ncemented over the next 40 years. She went on to lift the trophy on a total of\n10 occasions \u2013 more times than any other individual in history \u2013 triumphing\nseven times as a player and four times as a captain (including once as a\nplayer-captain). King was presented with\nthe Fed Cup Award of Excellence in recognition of her achievements in 2010,\nbefore being appointed as the competition\u2019s first Global Ambassador in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billie Jean King\nsaid, \u201cThere is\nnothing quite like the feeling of representing your country and being part of a\nteam, which is why this competition is so special and important to me. It is an\nhonour to have the women\u2019s world cup of tennis carry my name and a\nresponsibility I will not take lightly. \nOur job is to share this vision with future generations of young girls,\nbecause if you can see it, you can be it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The name change\nwill provide the opportunity for increased global exposure and investment in\nwomen\u2019s tennis. As a historical tennis\npartner, BNP Paribas has supported women\u2019s tennis since 2006 through the ITF\u2019s\nflagship women\u2019s global team competition, the women\u2019s world cup of tennis. The\nITF has today also announced Microsoft as the Global Technology and Innovation\nPartner in a collaboration that represents another step in embracing King\u2019s\nlegacy of advancing the sport of tennis for all by bringing real-time data\ninsights to the court at the Billie Jean King Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With equal prize\nmoney and increased opportunity for more nations to compete to become world\nchampions, the competition is today, more than ever, a powerful platform for\nthe ITF to deliver on its Advantage All gender equality initiative \u2013 a key\npillar of its ITF 2024 strategy. The bold rebranding of the competition not\nonly recognises Billie Jean King\u2019s achievements, it will also ensure she\ncontinues to be a visible role model for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ITF vice president, Fed Cup Committee Chair\nand Chair of the ITF Gender Equality in Tennis Committee Katrina Adams said, \u201cThis\nrebrand represents a significant moment in our sport. The Davis Cup is named\nafter a man, so it is absolutely right that the women\u2019s world cup of tennis is\nnamed after a woman. Given all she has achieved in our sport and her tireless efforts\nto champion equality around the world, I can\u2019t think of a more worthy recipient\nof this honour than Billie Jean King.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement\nof the name change comes in the week before the 50th anniversary of the\ncreation of the Virginia Slims Circuit, which saw nine women, including King,\nrisk everything to take a stand for equal rights in tennis. Known as the\n\u2018Original 9\u2019, these players took a leap of faith that led to the formation of\nthe WTA and ultimately paved the way for tennis to become a leading light in\nthe fight for equality in sport and society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
BNP Paribas is today the number one partner to\ntennis worldwide, with a commitment, unrivalled in sport, which goes back all\nthe way to 1973. The Group\u2019s support covers all levels and dimensions of the\ngame all over the world, including singles, doubles, team tennis, wheelchair\ntennis and family tennis, ranging from beginners\u2019 training to the top\nprofessional tournaments. Get all the news of\nplayers and tournaments on wearetennis.fr<\/a>\nand follow the latest on @WeAreTennis<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft invests in tennis sponsorship for\nthe first time as the new Billie Jean King Cup\u2019s Global Technology and\nInnovation Partner. For more information\non the ITF\u2019s technology and innovation partnership with Microsoft, visit www.microsoft.com\/inculture\/billie-jean-king-cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The ITF has announced that Fed Cup, the women\u2019s world cup of tennis, has been renamed the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas. It is the first time a major global team competition has been named after a woman, …<\/p>\n