USTA honors Billie Jean King.

The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) honored tennis great Billie Jean King recently by naming their National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, N.Y., after her.

"Naming such a celebrated venue after the greatest female tennis player and athlete social activist of all time is both rewarding and inspiring," said Donna Lopiano, CEO of the Women's Sports Foundation.

On Aug. 28, the opening night of the U.S. Open, King was honored in a ceremony that officially dedicated the center in her name. The event included tributes to King by former No. 1 tennis stars Chris Evert, Venus Williams, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, and a song sung by vocalist Diana Ross.

King expressed her gratitude for the honor at the ceremony.

"So rarely are women thought of this way, to get something named after them in sports. For that, I'm so thrilled. You have no idea because this is for all the world--women, people of color, people with disabilities," King said. "I hope it will have an echoing effect. It's tangible, there's a focus, a beacon of hope, a new beginning. I hope people see this and dream big, and truly go for it."

King began the women's professional tour in the 1960s and sought to seek additional prize money for female professionals. She was the first woman athlete to ever earn more than $100,000 in a single season and the first tennis player to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

In 1987, King was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

Not only was she a leader on the court. She founded Womensports magazine and the Women's Sports Foundation. King began playing tennis in the public parks of Long Beach, Calif.

The National Tennis Center is the largest sports facility in the world to be named after a woman.

For more information on the National Tennis Center, go to www.usta.com.