"Get rid of 15, 30, 40" - Billie Jean King calls for reform as she makes surprising revelations about rules in tennis she "cannot stand”
Billie Jean King is widely regarded as one of the best tennis players of all time. Recently, the 80-year-old made some interesting revelations on the changes she'd bring to the game of tennis if given the opportunity.
King led an incredible career in the two decades she spent on the court. She won a total of 129 career titles, 39 of which were Grand Slams. Despite retiring in 1990, the veteran has stayed regularly involved with the sport.
Recently, in a video that she shared on X (formerly Twitter), Billie Jean King revealed the three things she would change in tennis. At the top of her list was the scoring system, which she stated the sport needed to ‘get rid of’.
“I cannot stand the scoring. I think it's hard to get new people into the sport, particularly young people. I think we should get rid of the 15, 30, 40 game. We should have 1, 2, 3, 4. If you have to win by two, then at three all do two points in a row or whatever but get rid of 15, 30, 40.”
Another change King stated she would like to see in the sport is players wearing jerseys with their names and a number, saying,
“Every player should have their name and a number on. Why? We need to promote our players like every other sport does. You look at basketball, you look at football, baseball, they have their name and their number.”
The final change Billie Jean King would bring to tennis is to have the men and women play an equal number of sets, to ensure that women get equivalent media coverage.
“I definitely want two out of three sets. Or we have to play the same amount, men and the women. Because we're getting paid by media content, and women always get shortchanged because of the content,” she said.
Billie Jean King becomes first female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal
On September 18, the House passed Rep. Brian Fritzpatrick’s bipartisan, bicameral bill to award Billie Jean King the Congressional Gold Medal, making her the first female athlete to achieve this feat.
With this, King joins the league of elite athletes, including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, as well as golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, and Arnold Palmer to be awarded this honor.
Back in 2009, the tennis star was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work advocating for the rights of women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. She was also the first female athlete to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.