‘Take me to see flamenco’: Seville Finals evoke special memories for Billie Jean King
19/10/2023 12:03
With anticipation building ahead of the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals in Seville, Billie Jean King recounts some of her favourite memories from past trips to Spain and speaks about growing the competition to new heights
By Ross McLean
Billie Jean King will board a plane early next month ahead of the women’s World Cup of Tennis finale and a host of memories are likely to come flooding back when she touches down in Seville.
The occasion is the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals where 12 teams will compete at Seville's Estadio de La Cartuja in a bid to be crowned world champions. They are also looking to mark a special year for Billie Jean King Cup, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, in style.
King is no stranger to competing on Spanish soil in the competition which now bears her name (it was known as Fed Cup prior to its rebrand in 2020) and there were some iconic battles between Spain and USA during the 1990s.
Throughout that period, both nations were vying for supremacy and regularly topped the Billie Jean King Cup podium, with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez spearheading Spain’s multiple title bids.
King was USA captain back then and does not require too much prompting to recount stories from those epic encounters as well as experiences she intends to indulge in once back in Spain.
“It will be fantastic to be in Spain," said King, speaking at a virtual press conference hosted on Billie Jean King Cup global partner Microsoft’s platform Teams. "Spain has a rich Billie Jean King Cup history and people keep telling me that Seville is beautiful.
“I remember we played in Spain when I was captain of the USA team and went to Madrid and Valencia, and we lost because of Conchita and Arantxa.
"I really can’t wait to get back there. Flamenco originated there – and I love flamenco. When we played Spain in Madrid, I went every single night to watch flamenco after the matches.
“I got in the car and said, ‘take me to flamenco’, and every night I went to watch. I cannot wait to watch flamenco again and I cannot wait to meet the people of Seville and all the people from nations around the world who are coming to be with us.
“It really will be a privilege to be back in Spain and fantastic to take the Finals to Seville for the first time."
While her achievements are far too numerous to document and do justice to here, it is safe to say that King has enjoyed a distinguished career on and off court. That said, she struggles with the phrase “legend” being bandied in her direction.
King does, however, desire Billie Jean King Cup – the largest annual international women’s team competition in sport which saw a record 134 enter this season – to have that level of status for generations to come.
“I am very blessed that I was able to have the career I had,” added King. “I have also been a businesswoman since 1968 – I have invested in tennis, in women’s sport and I am part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers in America.
“I am so busy thinking about what we want for the future of our sport and that is why Billie Jean King Cup is so important to me. I am not comfortable with being called a legend, but I hope that I, and others, can make a difference.
“We’re thinking how we can make Billie Jean King Cup bigger and better, and don’t forget we also include the kids who are playing in Davis Cup Juniors and Bille Jean King Cup Juniors.
“We want to create a culture of young players not only thinking about themselves but their team, their lives and others. Our sport needs to be the leader in fighting for equality and helping others.”
Talking of juniors, there will be a dedicated Juniors Day at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals which will see talented players in the 16-and-under space, who will be competing at the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors Finals in nearly Cordoba, travel to Seville.
Indeed, Andalucia will assume the role of “super host” in the coming weeks as it becomes the home for the latter stages of major ITF events, with the Davis Cup Final 8 taking place in Malaga from 21-26 November.
Before either of the elite-level World Cups of Tennis conclude, the Davis Cup Juniors Finals will take place from 30 October-5 November in Cordoba. The Billie Jean King Cup Juniors by Gainbridge Finals will then also be hosted in Cordoba from 6-12 November.
Overseeing Juniors Day and indeed the entire operation at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be Martinez who, after enjoying so many memorable on-court moments in the competition, was appointed Tournament Director for the Finals in July.
Martinez won the competition on five occasions with Spain during those heady days in the 1990s, and King believes her presence at the Finals is a major coup.
“We think that having Conchita will make a huge difference to our event this year and that is why we chose her,” said King. “She is a champion on and off the court and we are absolutely thrilled to have her as the Tournament Director.
“Conchita represents everything we think is good in our sport. She has remained in the sport after a glorious playing career and we are blessed to have her.”
The scene is set. It is almost time for the on-court action – and perhaps even the dancing – to speak for itself.
Microsoft has been a Global Partner of the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge since November 2020. As part of this, Microsoft and the ITF developed the Billie Jean King Cup insights application. This technology allows athletes and coaches to have access to near-real time match insights, enabling them to adjust match strategy and improve performance. The dashboard uses Azure cloud platform to process and analyze key elements of the game like player movement, ball, shot and scoring data. Available courtside on Microsoft Surface tablets at Billie Jean King Cup Finals events since 2020, the dashboard quickly displays all of the relevant information in a user-friendly way that players and coaches can use quickly to uncover new insights on their opponents. The technology will be available for players and coaches to use at this year’s Finals in Seville.
