Billie Jean King has played in hundreds of tournaments, met thousands of people and hit millions of balls. So we have to believe her when she says that Canadian tennis is probably the best tennis league in the world.
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She saw how the Open Week of the National Bank went in Montreal and Toronto. It has witnessed the enthusiasm of fans and players for this tournament over the past decades. She is also in awe of the new wave of players from Canada.
During a long interview with Journalism Prior to her talk on Sept. 28 at C2 Montreal, she first praised Michael Downey, President and CEO of Tennis Canada, for doing a “terrific job.” Next, I talked about the sheer luck of running two “correct” tournaments. Then she praised “excellent Canadian players”.
There are three elements that make, according to her, that “Canadian tennis is perhaps the most well-known and distinguished association on the planet. It is number one in the world.”
It even wants the Canadian model to be copied by the Americans, especially in terms of financing. In Canada, the government helps and supports Tennis Canada and the Open National Bank. For example, in early August, the federal government offered $10 million to a Canadian tennis club to ensure the tournament would survive. This is the kind of gesture that Billie Jean King would like the US government to make in relation to the US Tennis Association to ensure its development, but it is not.
Montreal, the city of tennis
According to the former world number one, the cities of Montreal and Toronto are important. However, she believes that Montreal’s separation from OBN has a special character.
Photo by Dominique Gravel, press
Preview of the National Bank Open match at the beginning of August
Montreal held a tournament for a long time, although at the time it was a smaller tournament. For years, players have said it’s their favourite. Most of the players who play these tournaments become great champions, which is why it is important that they have tournaments at all levels.
Billie Jean King
These notes echo those made by Andy Murray when he confided to her Journalism Right before the start of the last tournament, there was no place in the world where there were so many fans to attend player training and qualifying rounds. He didn’t say anything compared to the Montreal tournament.
“The two tournaments I’ve done are great and I remember when the boys were separated from the girls, I thought it was cool. M. said.I King, because it allows women in particular to get all the attention in a particular city.
feminine brilliance
MI King also praised the Canadian players. “a night [Fernandez] Which made it to the US Open final last year, that was pretty cool. She is so nice. »
Photo by Robert Deutsch, USA Today Sports Archives
Laila Fernandez
Bianca [Andreescu]It’s the same, she’s very friendly. I know them quite a bit and they are great girls.
Billie Jean King
Remember, Andreescu won the New York Championship in 2019.
The 78-year-old, who won the Battle of the Sexes in September 1973, called Gabriella Dabrowski the best female doubles player in Canada. “It’s also really good,” she explained.
She finds it unfortunate that her success has not been as publicized as that of her compatriots Andreescu and Fernandez, but that is a lot of doubles players. MI King is well positioned to know that she has won 27 of the 39 major titles in women’s doubles or mixed doubles.
“I liked playing doubles better than singles, because I belong to team sports. I loved to.”
She also likes the format of international competitions, because it is possible to watch doubles matches, which are usually rare on television. She joked that she was referring to the Billie Jean King Cup, which she still calls the Fed Cup – because “I can’t use my name, it’s too embarrassing.”
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