"This is a big deal" - Tennis journalist applauds Billie Jean King Cup for efforts in reducing pay gap between women's and men's tennis
Noted tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg lauded the organizers of the Billie Jean King Cup for their efforts in reducing the pay gap between the ATP and the WTA.
Switzerland, the winner of the Billie Jean King Cup, has been awarded a record prize money of $2 million, from an overall record prize fund of $11.4m. The prize money is now equivalent to what the men received in the Davis Cup.
Rothenberg stated that equal prize money is now a "big deal" in tennis, especially with the widening ATP-WTA pay gap.
"Prize money doesn't get discussed as much in the team events, but this is a big deal, especially against the background of the overall ATP-WTA pay gap widening considerably," he tweeted.
Prize money doesn't get discussed as much in the team events, but this is a big deal, especially against the background of the overall ATP-WTA pay gap widening considerably. twitter.com/BJKCup/status/…
Switzerland triumphs in Billie Jean King Cup
Switzerland won the Billie Jean King Cup after beating Australia in the summit clash last Sunday.
The Swiss team - comprising Belinda Bencic, Jil Teichmann, Viktorija Golubic, and Simona Waltert - beat the Czech Republic 2-0 in the semifinals and got the better of Australia, a seven-time champion, with the same scoreline in the final.
Earlier, Australia beat Great Britain in the other semifinal.
The format of the tournament requires a team to win two out of three matches (two singles and one doubles clash). There was no need for a third match as Switzerland's Teichmann and Bencic won their respective singles encounters.
In the first match, 35th-ranked Teichmann beat 239th-ranked Storm Sanders 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The second match, which was a must-win for Australia, saw the 33rd-ranked Ajla Tomljanovic face a crushing 6-2, 6-1 defeat against 12th-ranked Bencic, as the Swiss were crowned the new champions.
While the Swiss players received their medals and the champion's trophy, they received another special honor in the form of 'winners jackets' from tennis legend Billie Jean King herself.
The 'winner's jacket' is often seen in the Augusta Masters in golf, where the champion of the prestigious tournament receives a green jacket. At the Billie Jean King Cup, the champions received blue jackets on Sunday. Bencic, Teichmann, Golubic, Waltert, and team captain Heinz Gunthardt were all thrilled to be presented with their jackets from King herself.
The blue shade of the Bille Jean King Cup jacket is 'Billie Blue,' a color that King herself often sported during her illustrious career and during the historic 'Battle of the Sexes' match in 1973. The jacket is exclusive to the champions of the BJK Cup.