Coco Gauff's gave heartfelt announcement ahead of Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Billie Jean King was speaking ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals which begin in November with 12 nations competing in Seville, Spain; the tennis great says this year’s competition is set to be unpredictable

Tennis icon Billie Jean King hailed Coco Gauff’s “fantastic” first Grand Slam win at the US Open earlier this year as being a fitting victory on the 50th anniversary of equal pay for women in the tournament.

The 12-time Grand Slam singles champion – which includes four US Open wins – played a pivotal role in securing equal pay due to her activism off the court during her playing career.

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals will take place in Seville next month and in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, King said she hoped Gauff’s efforts at Flushing Meadows will now help inspire the next generation of US tennis stars.

“It was fantastic,” King said of 19-year-old Gauff’s success. “We’ve all been very anxious for her to win a major.

“Her winning was very exciting. We were celebrating 50 years of equal prize money for women, so it was really appropriate that she won.

She’s a really great kid. Although she’s not really a kid anymore, she’s starting to be an adult. She’s got a wonderful family and I was really happy for her.

“And it was great for the United States because when you have someone homegrown do well, like with Andy Murray for instance, [Emma] Raducanu, it helps get children into our sport. And that’s what I like; I want us to grow tennis.”

As for Raducanu, herself a US Open champion in 2021 when only 18 years old, King hopes she can return to full fitness and back to her best in 2024.

Raducanu has been plagued by injuries since her stunning win in New York two years ago, missing out on three of the four Slams this season after undergoing surgery on her ankle and both of her wrists.

“We need Raducanu to be healthy, number one,” King said of the former British No 1.

“She’s a great person. She’s interested in the world around her, she can speak more than one language – she can speak Chinese because her mother’s Chinese. She’s somebody who I think is interesting as a human being.