25 August 2018
In 1973, Billie Jean King appeared in blue shoes on the court for demonstrating her believe that women have the same rights as men. The 70s footwear was the inspiration for the AM4BJK from the adidas AM4 line - AM4BJK is an acronym for 'adidas Made For Billie Jean King'. The shoe was developed by adidas Speedfactory designers together with the forward thinking athlete after the original footwear, equipped with new materials like the brand's Boost-technology sole and produced at the new adidas Speedfactory in Atlanta in a limited edition of 300 pairs; it's announced that each shoe can be identified by the owner via digitally unlockable serial number placed at the tongue of the AM4BJK. Note: Watch the video interview by Sports Illustrated with Billie Jean King and actress Emma Stone (played the tennis athlete in 'Battle Of The Sexes', released 2017) about the biographic movie and the 1970ies such as the domination of men in media or equal pay in sports and in general. On the website usopen.org, the athletes are listed with statistical numbers and the amount of money the female players already have got ('career prize money') and possibly get through matches such as Simona Halep (Romania), Angelique Kerber (Germany), or Serena Williams. The statistics are provided via files referencing the source of the information: WTA. According to the latest list by the WTA (Women's Tennis Association - founded by Billie Jean King, history) concerning 'Career Prize Money Leaders' from 20 August 2018 (pdf), Serena Williams tops the ranking. |
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On 27 August on occasion of the opening of the US Open in New York (runs until 9 September), the history-loaded shoe referencing the 'Battle Of The Sexes' match which happened 45 years ago between US tennis player, equal rights activist Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in Texas, will be launched at the adidas US Open store, selected NYC adidas stores and adidas.com.