Business
Tennis legend Billie Jean King sees progress, opportunity in women’s sports and leveling the playing field
Tennis legend Billie Jean King has been a fearless advocate for women’s rights and women in sports since early in her career, but she said there’s still work to do.
King made history in 1973 when she defeated top tennis player Bobby Riggs in the famous “Battle of the Sexes” match. Over 90 million people worldwide tuned into the match, according to BJK’s official website. It is the basis for the 2017 movie of the same name starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell.
Building on her strides for women in sports, King helped found the Women’s Tennis Association and became its first president. She also lobbied for equal prize money for men and women at the U.S. Open, making it the first major tournament to offer equal prize money across sexes.
As the 2025 U.S. Open descends on New York City, King sat down with CNBC’s Alex Sherman for a wide-ranging interview on the state of women’s sports, uniting tennis across men’s and women’s leagues and her perspective on aging gracefully.
Leveling the playing field
Growing up, King said her father believed in her just as much as he did in her younger brother. She said the way that men use their power is a key part of the fight for women’s rights.
“We’re taught not to ask for what we want and need. We are totally taught not to do that,” she said.
But King recounted examples of how women have brought about real, tangible changes in the industry when they speak up.
When David Stern was commissioner of the NBA, King had been sitting with him in the president’s box at the U.S. Open. After working up the courage, she said she asked Stern to promise he wouldn’t let the WNBA fail. He agreed and secured the financial backing to get the league on solid footing.
Similarly, King said hockey legend Kendall Coyne Schofield came to her and her wife, Ilana Kloss, to recruit their help in starting the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which had its first game in 2024.
“I looked at her, I said, ‘You have no idea how brave you are, because most girls don’t have the guts to even ask.’ But now we have a league because she asked. Kendall asked the question,” King said.
King said the male and female tennis players have been working together more and more over the years. But her goal to unite the two leagues — the ATP and the WTA — is still a work in progress.
“That’s my prayer for the future,” she said.
Aging gracefully
To King, aging just means more opportunity.
She said she and her wife try to play tennis together three times per week.
“I’ve read research, you can live almost — especially with tennis, it’s the healthiest sport in the world — that I can live almost 10 years extra, and that’s what I want,” she said.
On Tuesday, ride-share company Lyft announced it is partnering with King in its “Silver is Gold” campaign in an effort to reframe the conversation around aging.
King said Lyft Silver, a service designed for older adults, is useful because it uses larger font, offers tech support with a live person and matches users with vehicles that are easier to step into. She said it grants older adults freedom and independence.
And while older populations have increasingly turned toward pickleball over the past few years as a source of exercise, King said she’s sticking with tennis.
“I’ve played it a couple of times, but I don’t love the sound,” she said. “As long as I can play tennis, that’s where the magic is for me, when the ball hits the strings.”
The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
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