Two new neighborhoods on the famed 'Avenue of Aces' were unveiled on Wednesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Luke and Murphy Jensen, winners of the 1993 French Open together, purchased a paver in the doubles neighborhood in honor of their mother Patricia Jensen, while Dan Snyder, son of NJTL co-founder Sheridan Snyder, attended the dedication of the '50 Years of NJTL' neighborhood.
In addition, Billie Jean King purchased pavers in her existing neighborhood in honor of the "Original 9," which consisted of herself and eight other legendary female tennis players, Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey, Judy Dalton, Kerry Melville Reid, Julie Heldman, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon and Valerie Ziegenfuss, who gave life to women's professional tennis.
In 1970, the women signed $1 contracts to essentially form the women's professional circuit, which ultimately led to the formation of the modern WTA in 1973.
In addition, King purchased a paver in honor of the late Gladys Heldman, a longtime tennis journalist and Hall of Famer who supported the Original 9's effort and raised awareness for their cause at that time.
USTA President and Chairman of the Board Patrick Galbraith and Mary Carillo joining King and Casals for the dedication of the pavers.
USTAF Board member Missie Rennie and USTAF Advisory Board member Tom Shen spoke about the 'Avenue of Aces' at the dedications and emphasized the importance of the paver fundraising initiative. Beginning in 2005, the initiative has already raised $175,000 in 2019.