The United States Tennis Association will name the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., in honor of former champion Billie Jean King, Bloomberg.com reported.
King's name will be added to the tennis center during an opening-night ceremony at the U.S. Open, according to The New York Times. The center will be known as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The plan to rename the tennis center was announced at a news conference at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main playing area at the center. Ashe, the first Black man to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, died in 1993 of AIDS-related pneumonia after contracting the disease through a blood transfusion during heart surgery.
King, the only woman to win U.S. singles titles on all four surfaces—grass, clay, carpet, and hard—won a record 20 Wimbledon titles and four U.S. Open championships. She also beat Bobby Riggs in a nationally televised match, 'The Battle of the Sexes,' in 1973.