Racquet Sports Industry Magazine Names 2023 ‘Champions of Tennis’

Tennis icon Billie Jean King is the journal’s “Individual of the 12 months,” whereas people and organizations from throughout the nation are acknowledged in 27 further classes.

NEW YORK, NY (Dec. 13, 2023) — Tennis legend and social activist Billie Jean King has been named “Individual of the 12 months” for 2023 by Racquet Sports activities Business journal within the publication’s January 2024 challenge. King led off the journal’s twenty third annual “Champions of Tennis Awards,” which honor individuals, companies and organizations devoted to bettering the game and enterprise of tennis and racquet sports activities.

King’s file on the tennis court docket is extraordinary—39 Grand Slam titles (12 singles, 16 ladies’s doubles and 11 combined doubles), seven Fed Cup titles, and way more—however as a pioneer and advocate for equality and social justice, few People can come near what she has stood for and achieved.

“With all that Billie Jean King has accomplished, and continues to do, a case might simply be made for her to be our ‘Individual of the 12 months’ in just about any yr,” says Racquet Sports activities Business Editor Peter Francesconi. “However in 2023, through which Billie Jean turned 80 years outdated, we have a good time key anniversaries that she helped result in. This yr, the US Open marked the fiftieth anniversary of awarding equal prize cash to female and male gamers, which was a transfer spearheaded by King. It was additionally the fiftieth yr of the Girls’s Tennis Affiliation, which was based by King. And 50 years in the past, her iconic win over Bobby Riggs within the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ modified our perspective on ladies in sports activities and society.

“Title IX was handed in 1972 prohibiting sex-based discrimination in faculties and different schooling programming receiving federal funds, and Billie Jean made that landmark laws come alive for all People,” Francesconi provides. “Her braveness, ardour and willingness to make use of her platform to champion such essential beliefs has made the game, and this nation, higher.”

Along with its Individual of the 12 months award, Racquet Sports activities Business additionally named winners in 27 different classes for its 2023 Champions of Tennis Awards (see the January 2024 Racquet Sports activities Business digital version at www.tennisindustrymag.com for extra on these winners):

Individual of the 12 months: Billie Jean King, Chicago, Unwell.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Kirk Anderson, Portland, Ore.
Tennis Business Service Award: John Embree, Orlando, Fla.
Professional/Specialty Retailer of the 12 months: Your Serve Tennis, Atlanta, Ga.
Industrial Facility of the 12 months: North Hills Membership, Raleigh, N.C.
Municipal Tennis Facility of the 12 months: Kroc Tennis Middle, Greenville, S.C.
Builder/Contractor of the 12 months: Jeff Nichols/American Tennis Courts Inc., Cellular, Ala.
Gross sales Rep of the 12 months: Cynthia Shipper, Dallas, Texas
Grassroots Tennis Champion of the 12 months: Loretta Conway, Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Junior Tennis Champion of the 12 months: Rob Oppenheim, Bridgeport, Conn.
Wheelchair Tennis Champion of the 12 months: Anthony Lara, Chino, Calif.
Neighborhood Tennis Affiliation of the 12 months: Alternative Tennis Academy, Southeastern Michigan
Racquet Technician/Stringer of the 12 months: Albert Lee, Potomac, Md.
Public Park of the 12 months: Hampden Park, Studying, Pa.
Mass Service provider/Chain Retailer of the 12 months: Dick’s Sporting Items, Coraopolis, Pa.
Excessive Faculty Coach of the 12 months: Invoice Shardlow, North Yarmouth, Maine
Tennis Advocate of the 12 months: Angela Emery, Casper, Wyo.
Park & Recreation Company of the 12 months: Cellular (Ala.) Park & Rec Division
Adaptive Tennis Champion of the 12 months: Janet Lefkowitz, Greenburgh, N.Y.
Nationwide Junior Tennis & Studying Chapter of the 12 months: Benefit Children, Gilford, N.H.
Grownup Tennis Supplier of the 12 months: Tennis in Your Park, USTA Northern Part
Modern Media Protection of the 12 months: Mark Preston/USOpen.org, New York
Faculty Tennis Facility of the 12 months: Byron Middle Colleges West Athletic Advanced, Byron Middle, Mich.
Faculty Tennis Facility of the 12 months: Philip & Cheryl Milstein Tennis Middle, Columbia College, New York, N.Y.
Public Tennis Facility of the 12 months: Dwight Davis Tennis Middle, St. Louis, Mo.
PTR Member of the 12 months: Tito Perez, Setauket, N.Y.
USPTA Member of the 12 months: Simon Paek, Fullerton, Calif.
USTA Part of the 12 months: USTA Missouri Valley

Racquet Sports activities Business (previously Tennis Business), the biggest racquet sports activities commerce journal on the planet, has been overlaying the tennis enterprise and the game for 52 years. It’s printed 10 instances a yr by Tennis Channel Inc. Out there in each print and digital editions, RSI is the official publication of the Tennis Business Affiliation, U.S. Racquet Stringers Affiliation and American Sports activities Builders Affiliation. Go to www.tennisindustrymag.com.