New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS): The ITF has announced that Fed Cup, the women's world cup of tennis, has been renamed the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas, a statement said.

It is the first time a major global team competition has been named after a woman, ushering in a new era for the historic tournament and representing a landmark moment for sport.

A champion on the court and a pioneer off it, Billie Jean King is a global campaigner for equality who has dedicated her life to fighting discrimination in all its forms, the statement said, adding that the values she represents epitomise the ethos of a tournament that has evolved to become the largest annual international team competition in women's sport, with 116 nations participating in 2020.

The renaming also follows the introduction of a new finals format that will bring the 12 best nations together over one week in Budapest to compete to become world champions.

From 2021, under its new name, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will award the biggest annual prize fund in women's team sports - equivalent to that offered to the men playing Davis Cup finals, the statement said.