Tennis’ First Lady: The Life of Billie Jean King
February is over, and if you live in the Midwest like I do, March is the month all the snow starts to melt (hopefully), and we can finally start thinking about spring. Not only is March the start of a new season, but it’s Women’s History Month too!
Here at Sportsish, this month might just be our favorite. What better way to kick it off than to share the incredible story of tennis star Billie Jean King? As a classic example of a female powerhouse, Billie Jean is one athlete to remember, not just for her talent, but for her prominent stance on social activism issues and inequality. She is a force to be reckoned with, so let's get to know her.
Early Life
Billie Jean King rocking a fabulous pair of wire-rim glasses (AP)
Born on November 22nd, 1943, in Long Beach, California, Billie Jean grew up an athlete playing softball and basketball. King started playing tennis at 11 years old and was completely enamored by the sport. Using the money she earned from jobs throughout her childhood, Billie Jean bought her first tennis racket and told her mother, “I am going to be No. 1 in the world.” Little did she know that she was going to do just that.
King lifting her trophy after her win (Getty Images)
Professional Career
Billie Jean photographed in 1973, the same year as the “Battle of the Sexes” (Getty Images)
Starting her career in 1958, Billie Jean first played in the Southern California championship, where she won her age bracket and then turned pro the following year, being coached by Alice Marble, another prominent women’s player. Just a short two years later, Billie Jean went on to win the doubles title at Wimbledon with her partner Karen Hantze Susman, making them the youngest doubles pair to ever win. As a California State University student from 1961 to 1964, King played in many tennis tournaments while also being a tennis instructor. She really did it all.
In 1966, Billie Jean won her first major singles title at Wimbledon and went on to achieve exactly what she said she would, becoming the No. 1 ranked women’s tennis player in the world. Over the following years, King went on to repeat this title in 1967 and 1968. She is the original queen of the three-peat.
An action shot of King in 1974 (AP)
Billie Jean continued to dominate at Wimbledon, winning the singles title again in 1971, 1972, and 1974. Completing a feat most players only dream of, King won three Grand Slam titles in 1972—the U.S. Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon. This same year, Billie Jean was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, making her the first tennis player and woman to ever earn that title.
Throughout her time on the court, this icon claimed the singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon a record number of 20 times, a number still tough to beat to this day. Finishing out her career with a total of 39 Grand Slam titles—12 singles, 16 doubles, and 11 mixed doubles—Billie Jean cemented her name in tennis history forever.
The “Battle of the Sexes” in 1973
Bobby Riggs (left) and Billie Jean King (right) during the “Battle of the Sexes” in 1973 (Getty Images)
The accomplishment that Billie Jean is best known for was her participation and ultimate victory in the “Battle of the Sexes” matchup against Bobby Riggs in 1973. Taking place on September 20th in the Houston Astrodome, the exhibition match was years in the making. In her prime at the age of 29, Billie Jean took on the infamously sexist 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in the most-watched tennis match of all time—resulting in nearly 30,500 people in attendance and an estimated 90 million television viewers.
Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs three months before their matchup (Bettmann)
Challenged by Riggs in a $100,000 winner-takes-all match, Billie Jean went in and showed everyone she knew exactly who she was. Beating Bobby in three straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, and 6-3, King walked out of the exhibition 100 grand richer and proved to the world that women deserve a place in sports.
That same year, Billie Jean threatened to boycott the 1973 U.S. Open if the men and women champions were not paid the same. Thanks to her, the U.S. Open became the first major tennis tournament to offer equal prize money.
“Women get the attention when we get into the men’s arena, and that’s sad. ”
“Battle of the Sexes” 2017
Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs (Battle of the Sexes, 2017)
You might be wondering, “Where is the -ish?” Don’t worry, we have that too! In a 2017 film starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell, Billie Jean’s story was brought to life in Hollywood. Directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, this sport/comedy film highlighted the on- and off-court struggles of both opponents. Emma Stone puts on a spectacular performance next to the always hilarious Steve Carell. It is available to stream on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video; go check it out.
“I have often been asked whether I am a woman or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a woman.”
Personal Achievements
Billie Jean after a Wimbledon win in 1973 (Michael Cole)
While Billie Jean King accomplished much on the court, her list of achievements off the court is endless.
1974: Established the Women’s Sport Foundation
1990: Named to Life Magazine’s “100 Most Important Americans”
1999: Named one of the Greatest Athletes of the Century by Sports Illustrated
2003: Inducted into the Court of Fame at the USTA National Tennis Center
2009: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama
Became the first woman in sports history to win $100,000 in a single year
One of the first female athletes to champion LGBTQ+ rights
The site of the U.S. Open was named in her honor: the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
King looking stylish as ever in a shoot for Glamour (Glamour Magazine)
A truly phenomenal woman like herself needs to be recognized. What a start to Women’s History Month with a story like Billie Jean King’s. We thank her for all her contributions to the sports world, but also for all the ones she made outside her tennis career. Here is to Billie Jean King and a lifelong legacy!
“Pressure is privilege.”