Grand Slams are not everything: tennis great

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-10 09:57

LOS ANGELES: Tennis great and equal rights campaigner Billie Jean King disagrees with critics who suggest Russia's Dinara Safina lacks credibility as the women's world No 1.

Safina replaced American Serena Williams at the top in April, sparking debate over the merits of the ranking system and whether a player without a grand slam title should become No 1.

"I think that the computer rankings are good," King told Reuters. "I don't want grand slams to be the only four peaks a year. I think supporting our Tour and taking tennis to the people is very important.

"When we started the tour in 1971, before the WTA, we wanted it to be international and we wanted any little girl in the world to have an opportunity to be a professional player, if she was good enough.

"We knew some countries would not be catching up for decades but that was our dream," added King, who founded the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) in 1973. "And our dream was for women and women's sports way beyond just tennis."

The top of the women's rankings has been an international merry-go-round over the past 12 months with Safina, fellow Russian Maria Sharapova, Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic and American Williams all spending time as No 1.

Asked what she thought about the constant chop-and-change at the top, King replied: "When there's a rivalry, like (Roger) Federer and (Rafael) Nadal in the men's game, they (critics of women's tennis) always say: "Well, they're just not there.'

"Then, when you get what the women have got now, they say: 'Ah, we need a rivalry.' Whatever's happening, we're not there.

Grand Slams are not everything: tennis great

"It hurt that (Justine) Henin dropped out but I think that she would have stayed at No 1 for a while and let these others have a chance to evolve and develop."

Belgian Henin stunned the tennis world when she quit the sport in May last year, aged just 25 and ranked No 1.

King piled up 39 grand slam titles during her glittering career but feels her work in helping promote the game through World Team Tennis (WTT) has been her greatest achievement.

With her then husband Larry King, she co-founded WTT in 1974 - a pro league where gender balance was at the heart of the format.

"I've always wanted tennis to be a team sport and I wanted it to be a co-ed team, not just men or women," the 65-year-old American said.

"I felt from a socialisation point of view it would be much stronger for young people particularly to see us because they'll learn about supportive and leadership roles without realizing it. That's the best way to learn.

"And to do so while having fun and competition," added King, who was speaking at Newport Beach Country Club, home venue for WTT's Newport Beach Breakers.

The WTT Pro League consists of 10 teams and past players including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams.

Reuters