Billie Jean King discovered her passion for tennis at age 10 after first playing basketball and softball. Introduced to the sport by a friend, she practiced on public courts in Long Beach and quickly set her sights on becoming the world’s top player. Early experiences with gender discrimination in tennis fueled both her competitive drive and her lifelong commitment to equality. By 1961, she had gained international recognition by winning the Wimbledon women’s doubles title with Karen Hantze Susman, becoming the youngest pair to do so at the time.
King went on to become one of the most successful tennis players in history. Ranked No. 1 in the world for six years, she won 39 Grand Slam titles, including multiple championships at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open. Known for her speed, aggressive net play, and powerful backhand, she dominated women’s tennis throughout the 1960s and 1970s, achieving her childhood goal of becoming the world’s top-ranked player.
Beyond her athletic achievements, King transformed women’s sports through her advocacy for equal pay and opportunity. She helped found the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973 and successfully pushed for equal prize money at the U.S. Open. That same year, she defeated Bobby Riggs in the historic “Battle of the Sexes,” a landmark moment for gender equality in sports. Despite being publicly outed as a lesbian in 1981 and losing endorsement deals, she remained a leading advocate for women and LGBTQ+ rights. Her contributions have earned numerous honors, including induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and she continues to champion equity through sports, education, and activism.