Billie Jean King has called on tennis to change its traditional scoring system to attract the next generation of fans.
The use of the word “love” to mean zero and points going in a 15-30-40 sequence have been used in tennis for centuries, but the multiple grand slam winner believes it is confusing for younger supporters.
“I want to make it easy for fans. I think it should be 1-2-3-4 not 15-love, 30-love,” King told BBC Sport. “If you are a kid – I didn’t come from tennis – what the heck does that mean? If we want to get eight, nine, 10, 11, 12-year-old children involved in our sport we have to make it accessible to them – not to a 60-year-old fan.”
King also wants to see more made of the personalities in tennis, with players’ names put on the back of their shirts or tops as in football and, more recently, rugby.
Tennis is the latest sport to consider its long-term future and how it can appeal to the coveted younger generation. Cricket introduced the Hundred, Formula One enticed a younger audience into the sport through Netflix’s Drive to Survive, and now King has put forward similar measures for her sport.
‘Be patient with Emma Raducanu’
The Billie Jean King Cup finals take place in Malaga this week, with Great Britain’s team including Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter.
Raducanu has been plagued with a series of injuries affecting her time on court since she won the US Open in 2021, but King believes she needs a sustained period away from the treatment table before her ability is scrutinised because it is hard to build momentum.
“If she can stay healthy long enough, then we’ll see how good she is,” King said. “It takes a lot to come back from injury and you have got to be very patient.”
Only two players from the top 10 are involved in the BJK Cup Finals – Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, with Coco Gauff, of the United States, among those who have dropped out on the eve of the tournament.
Injuries have had an impact on availability, but players have grown increasingly vocal about the length of the season, with competitions scheduled almost non-stop throughout the year. However, King thinks those involved cannot complain about the regular WTA Tour season and then use their time off to take part in lucrative exhibition matches.
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