Philadelphia Freedom (song) honour Billie Jean King, and so asked Taupin to write a song called "Philadelphia Freedom" as a homage to her tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms. In "His Song: The Musical History of Elton John", Elizabeth Rosenthal recounts that Taupin said, "I can't write a song about tennis," and did not. Taupin maintains that the lyrics bear no relation to tennis, Philly Soul, or even flag-waving patriotism. Nonetheless, the lyrics have been interpreted as patriotic and uplifting, and even though it was released in 1975, the song's sentiment, intentionally or not, meshed perfectly with an American music audience gearing up for
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is an American stadium complex in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August and September, since 1978 and is operated by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The facility has 22 courts inside its and 11 in the adjoining park. The complex's three stadiums are among the largest tennis stadiums in the world, with Arthur Ashe Stadium topping the global list with a listed capacity of 23,200.