Tennis: ATP, WTA merger is long overdue, says pioneer Billie Jean King

NEW YORK (REUTERS/AFP) - Half a century after she began her fight for pay equity in tennis, Billie Jean King said the time was long overdue to bring the men's and women's games together as Roger Federer called on Wednesday (April 22) for the ATP and WTA tours to merge.

King, along with her fellow players comprising the so-called "Original 9", launched a campaign for equal prize money two years after the sport's Open Era began in 1968 and she wanted a unified governing body for men and women from the start.

"I heard about the men starting an association and I went to a lot of the guys and I said, 'Why don't we have one association, so we can all be together and we would be such a phenomena'," she said.

The Association of Tennis Professionals launched in 1972 and the Women's Tennis Association in 1973, in what King described as "Plan B".

Her hopes for a unified body were reignited when 20-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer expressed support for the idea.

"Am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men's and women's tennis to be united and come together as one?" the Swiss wrote on Twitter, prompting a flurry of positive responses from the tennis community.

"I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the 2 governing bodies (ATP and WTA) that oversee the men's and women's professional tours."

Former world No. 1 King claimed 12 Grand Slam singles singles titles in her career, making her one of the most successful players in women's tennis.

"It just shows you culturally and generationally how the younger men today, they really do believe their daughters and sons should have equal opportunities," King said.

Her victory over Bobby Riggs in the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" match cemented King's status as a leading figure for women's empowerment in the world of sports and beyond.

"I've always felt we're stronger together, that's my whole philosophy," said King. "When you get to know people, then you care more.

"In my day, the men culturally just could not wrap their heads around us ever making a dime."

King, 76, said she would like to see the different ranking systems in men's and women's tennis eliminated as part of a series of changes to simplify the game for fans.

"You know how they have these 1000s, 500 and 250s and then the women's have premiers - we need to throw all that out, we need to throw everything out and start over and have the same systems," said King.

"Everything's about the fans - we've got to make it more simple for them to understand what the heck we're doing."

Nadal, who has 19 Grand Slam titles, supported his long-time rival's proposition.

"Hey @rogerfederer as you know per our discussions I completely agree that it would be great to get out of this world crisis with the union of men's and women's tennis in one only organisation," he said.

Federer and Nadal argued by a merger tennis could emerge stronger from the coronavirus lockdown which has seen the sport shut down, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II and the French Open pushed back to the end of September.

"It probably should have happened a long time ago, but maybe now is really the time. These are tough times in every sport and we can come out of this with 2 weakened bodies or 1 stronger body," Federer wrote.

He said the current system was "too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories".