"You said you needed rest"- Billie Jean King issues harsh criticism after complaints from likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek over long tennis season
Billie Jean King recently addressed the controversy surrounding the length of the tennis schedule, which many star players, including Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, have deemed too long and taxing. The American tennis great criticized the players and proposed a change to the schedule for the betterment of the sport.
The 2024 tennis season began at the United Cup on January 1. The WTA Tour concluded with the WTA Finals on November 9, with ATP's year-end championship having its final on November 17. Several top stars on both tours have raised issues with the length of the schedule, with Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek the most prominent voices on this topic.
Alcaraz slammed the "demanding" tennis schedule during his campaign at the 2024 ATP Finals, attributing it to physical troubles and mental fatigue. Meanwhile, Swiatek called the tennis schedule "crazy" and questioned the number of mandatory tournaments. Many in the tennis world have given their take on the issue, with WTA legend Billie Jean King making her thinking clear during an interview with BBC published on Friday, November 15.
King found it "interesting" that the players compete in high-paying exhibition events in the middle of the tour while simultaneously complaining about the lengthy schedule. Due to this reason, the 12-time Grand Slam champion said that she finds it difficult to come on board with the player's objections.
"It's so interesting how they always complain it's too much. They've been doing this forever by the way - but then they get a month off and they go play exhibitions."
"I go really? You guys said you needed the rest. Don't tell me you think the season is too long. I know if there's enough money you go and you play. It's a really tough argument for me to listen to the players," King told BBC.
Carlos Alcaraz recently featured in an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia called the '6 Kings Slam,' held from October 16 to 19. Jannik Sinner emerged victorious at the tournament and was awarded $6,000,000, almost double the prize money given to the champion at any Grand Slam.
Billie Jean King proposes fan-centric changes to tennis schedule
Despite the aforementioned criticism of the player's continued grievances towards tennis schedules, King agreed that changes needed to be made to make tennis more accessible and consumable for fans. During her BBC interview, the 70-year-old proposed that the regular season end with the US Open in September.
After the year's last Grand Slam, King suggested all the team's competitions, like the Davis Cup for men and the Billie Jean King Cup for women, be organized. She put forward these ideas to mold tennis into a more palatable sport for fans and spectators.
"I think after the US Open, there should be a team competition. I would have a team season because I always think about the fans, I don't think about the players all the time, I think about the players and the fans. I want to grow the sport, in spectatorship as well as participation," King said.
On the current tennis schedules, Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup ties are sprinkled throughout the year, with their Finals stage organized after the year-end championships. This year both the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and Davis Cup Finals, are being held in Malaga, Spain.