"Billie Jean King's on the scene a lot, she's always around": Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's Vedika Anand lauds American for women's tennis contributions
Billie Jean King was recently lauded by Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's operations manager Vedika Anand. She called the tennis legend a 'big trailblazer' for her contributions to the women's game.
King is among the greatest tennis players of all time and continues to be a much respected figure in the sport because of her performances and also, her advocacy for equal prize money. She was famously a key member of the "Original 9", who formed the breakaway Virginia Slims Circuit, thus laying the platform for the foundation of the WTA Tour.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Vedika Anand, who previously worked with King and her foundation, heaped praise on the 80-year-old, calling her a "big trailblazer".
"I really like Billie Jean King, if you're talking legends. I used to work for her, um, for her organization and her foundation in New York. Worked with her as well. And just everything she's done for women's tennis, I'm a big supporter. Billie Jean King was a big trailblazer," she said.
Anand also spoke about how regularly the American was around on the tennis scene.
"They also, again, they talk about it a lot. They promote it a lot. She's on the scene a lot. She's sitting at tournaments. She's always around. She's making a big impact. That makes a big difference as well for her legacy to continue," she added.
"Everyone talks about Billie Jean King till this day because she's still around" - Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's Vedika Anand
Further praising Billie Jean King, Anand said that the tennis legend would not have been as talked about as she regularly is had she just stepped away after her contributions to women's tennis. She added that people frequently talk about the 80-year-old because of how ever-present she is in the tennis community at present.
"If she had done what she did and was nowhere to be seen after that and not doing all this great work in women's sports, maybe it wouldn't have been as talked about. As an outsider, you know, like coming into the US, everyone knows her, everyone talks about her till this day because she's still around. That's a big difference," Anand said.
Billie Jean King's career had several monumental achievements, that include 12 Grand Slam singles titles, eight of which came during the Open Era. Half of her singles Majors came at Wimbledon.
1972 was a special year in the American's singles career, as she won three of the four Majors, having not competed at the Australian Open. All in all, King won 129 singles titles throughout her career, 67 of which came in the Open Era.
Billie Jean King also had a remarkable doubles career with a total of 27 Grand Slams to her name across women's and mixed doubles. The American won 16 women's doubles Majors while clinching 11 in the mixed doubles category.