By Ben Rothenberg
[vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text="Billie Jean King and Roger Federer Renew Calls for a Joint Tour" font_container="tag:h5|font_size:26px|text_align:center|line_height:32px"][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space height="15px"]“People always listen to men more than women,” Billie Jean King told me days ago as we chatted on the phone from our respective quarantines.
The blunt statement, in context, was somehow a hopeful one: A tweet by Roger Federer had given new energy to the idea of bringing men’s and women’s tennis together under one umbrella, a cause she had been championing for a half century.[vc_empty_space height="15px"][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_empty_space height="15px"]King had wanted to unite men’s and women’s tennis as soon as the sport became open to professionals more than 50 years ago, but had been stymied for decades.