A legend is honored, a new equal pay milestone achieved, and a trailer for an exciting new documentary has dropped. The tennis stories you missed last week.
Billie Jean King immortalized in bronze with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame: King became the first woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the new sports entertainment category. Full Story: Tennis
BJK Cup withdrawals ‘a tennis, not a player, problem’: Only three of the world’s top-20 will compete in this week’s qualifying rounds, with Poland’s Iga Swiatek and American trio Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, and Madison Keys among those absent. Full Story: BBC
The 2025 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals Dates Announced: The 2025 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals will be held from 16 to 21 September at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena in Shenzhen, China. Full Story: Billie Jean King Cup
USTA Names Tracy Davies as General Manager of USA Tennis: The USTA has announced that Tracy Davies has been named General Manager of USA Tennis. In this new role, Davies will oversee an expanded high-performance division that joins Player Development, Pro Circuit, Collegiate, Junior Competition, and International Team Events into a single cohesive department. As the strategic business lead for this division, she will be responsible for optimizing the resources and player pathways for the most competitive juniors and professional players to foster a culture of transparency, alignment, and innovation, impacting players through competition, coaching, and player support. Full Story: Racquet Sports Industry
Charleston Open to have equal pay for women, men in 2026: The Charleston Open said Sunday that it will pay equal prize money to women and men starting in 2026. Prize money for the WTA-500 level event will be the same as the men’s ATP-500 level event. Full Story: ESPN
Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe weigh in on U.S. men’s tennis: This year marks the 10th anniversary of Tommy Paul’s triumph over Taylor Fritz in the final of the Roland Garros boys final, a win that some took as a national coming-of-age event. Perhaps the American men, long averse to clay, would soon be as proficient on the dirt. That hope largely went unrealized. Can a new generation led by Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien do better? Full Story: Tennis
Wimbledon plans to increase ‘Henman Hill’ capacity: The proposed revamp – which has not yet been approved – would increase the hill’s capacity by 20% in time for the 2027 event and increase accessibility. Full Story: BBC
Lacoste Opens Tennis-Themed Flagship In New York City: The launch of a flagship store in a prime location on New York’s Fifth Avenue aligns with the brand’s aspirations for the United States and its hopes for further growth. Full Story: Forbes
Tennis players love golf. How good are their swings?: Golf maps onto tennis in numerous ways, from the skills required to the low risk of injury that players look for in a downtime activity that keeps them moving. It fulfils the need for competition but is less adversarial than their main sport, sharing a course for 18 holes being very different to engaging in quasi-gladiatorial combat from the other side of a net. Full Story: The Athletic
Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘My Way’ documentary trailer has dropped: “I want to do it my way,” Alcaraz says, in the series trailer, of his goal to be the best player in the world. That ambition is intercut with opinions from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who both did it their way. Full Story: The Athletic Video Trailer: YouTube
The turf war between tennis and pickleball roils another LA neighborhood park: With the phenomenal rise of pickleball, that has meant an ongoing turf war with its racket sport elder, tennis. Here is another example, this one set in LA. Full Story: The LAist
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 4/14-20 | Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell | ATP 500 | Spain |
| 4/14-20 | BMW Open | ATP 500 | Germany |
| 4/14-21 | Porsche Tennis Grand Prix | WTA 500 | Germany |
| 4/14-20 | Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole | WTA 250 | France |
