Maria Perez flanked by Conchita, Marina Bassols and Paula Badosa.
Photo: ITF website
Seville (Spain) – The Spanish Billie Jean King Cup team received a visit, this Wednesday, from midfielder Maria Perez, 21, a member of the Spanish team that became world football champions. Perez met with tennis players Paula Badosa and Marina Bassols before the opening clash against Canada.
Recently, Perez was loaned to Sevilla from Barcelona. After touring the La Cartuja stadium facilities in the company of the tournament director, Conchita Martinez, Perez was introduced to Billie Jean King, who presented her with a Spain football shirt signed by the national team’s players and then sat down. join Martinez to watch the action.
“It was a great honor for me to be invited to meet Billie Jean and our Spanish team at this fantastic event today. Everyone knows that Billie Jean is an icon of women’s sports and I had the pleasure of meeting her and the Spanish players. We were very proud to win the Football World Cup for Spain this year and I hope our incredible tennis players can do the same at the Tennis World Cup,” said Maria Perez.
Billie Jean King returned the compliment. “We are very pleased to welcome Maria here today. What she and her teammates achieved earlier this year was incredible, and I hope that her presence here today, and the success of the entire Spanish team, will be an inspiration to athletes of all nations.”
David Haggerty, president of the ITF, commented: “It is a great pleasure to welcome Maria to the Women’s Tennis World Cup final today. We know how much it means for athletes in all sports to represent their countries and I am proud that this wonderful competition gives the best tennis players in the world the opportunity to do so. Maria and her teammates achieved the ultimate goal for their country earlier this year, and I look forward to seeing which team does the same here this week.”
