Billie Jean King is undoubtedly one of the game’s greats, with an outstanding career that has paved the way not only for women’s tennis but for women’s sports as a whole.

The Beginning

King started playing softball as a child and switched to tennis at the age of 11. The centre where she took her lessons has since been renamed the Billie Jean Moffitt King Tennis Centre.

Her Career

King won her first and only French Open back in 1972.
This accomplishment made her only the fifth woman in tennis history to win the singles titles at all four grand slams. King has also won Wimbledon a record number of 20 times: six singles, 10 women’s doubles, and four mixed doubles. 

The Early Years

King began competing in 1959. She was just 15 years old when she entered the US Championships and was knocked out in the first round. The next year she went on to win her first tournament in Philadelphia.

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In 1974, King won five of the first seven tournaments she competed in.  She won the Virginia Slims of San Francisco, defeating Nancy Richey. She also reached the final at Wimbledon, where she lost, but went on to win her fourth singles title at the US Open.

In 1975, King won her sixth Wimbledon title and retired temporarily after half a year, starting that year in San Francisco. She also won in Texas, Wimbledon, and Eastbourne.

The Later Years

In March 1977, King decided to play in the Lionel Cup tournament in San Antonio, and she went on to win the tournament. 
King went on to play at Wimbledon and lost in the quarter-finals to long-time rival, Maria Bueno. She also lost the US Open that year, once again to a very well-informed Chris Evert.
King’s win-loss percentage was 31-3, losing only to Evert, Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat, and Michelle Tyler.

In 1978, King decided to limit herself to doubles after Wimbledon, she was runner-up in both Houston and Kansas City. 

At Wimbledon, King played with a pain in her left foot and lost in the quarter-finals. King teamed up with Martina Navratilova to win the women’s doubles title at the US Open, her fourth women’s doubles title, and her fourteenth Grand Slam women’s doubles title overall. At the end of the year, King was undefeated in five doubles matches.

At Wimbledon in 1980 King once again lost in the quarter-final stage, at the US Open she went on to win her 39^th and final Grand Slam title at the US Open.

King retired from competitive tennis in March 1990, but she still competed in charity matches and will not give up playing the sport she loves.

Battle of the Sexes 

In 1973, King defeated Bobby Riggs in a Battle of the Sexes exhibition match in Houston, which attracted a huge crowd of 30,492 in the arena and 50 million on television, and is considered a key event in the development of women’s tennis.

Activism 

King is also a huge activist for women in tennis and the LGBTQIA+ community. Furthermore, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work on behalf of the LGBTQ community. 
King is an openly gay woman who has also been the subject of comments about being open about her sexuality. 

In 2014, she founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to addressing the critical issues needed to achieve diverse and inclusive leadership in the workforce. 
The BJK Foundation aims to support the new generation of leaders and provide access to the transformative power of sport and education to create positive and inclusive change.

King is truly a trailblazer for women’s tennis and will continue to do so.