Billie Jean King drops puck to start Professional Women's Hockey League

One day after the end of the WTA's 50th year of existence, and tour founder Billie Jean King was helping launch another women's professional sports league.

The indefatigable octogenarian began her 2024 with a trip to Toronto, where the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) debuted at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. King, alongside five-time Olympic ice hockey medalist and senior VP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford, dropped the cermonial first puck on not only the game between Toronto and New York, but the league itself.

"I've experienced my share of memorable moments on grass, on clay and on hard courts all over the world," King said on social media. "And now on ice."

The PWHL was created, in part, to consolidate two rival women's hockey leagues, the National Women's Hockey League and the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association (for more details, read this story from ESPN). The six-team league includes teams from Toronto, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, Minnesota and Boston.

Boston's team plays its games at Tsongas Center—site of the very first Tennis Channel live broadcast, in 2003.

"I am unbelievably excited to be on hand as the dream for these players become a relality," said King before the big day (one). "Go for it!"