Billie Jean King Biography

Fast Facts

• During her tennis career, she won a record 20 Wimbledon titles, including the women's doubles title with Karen Hantze Susman in 1962, which was her first attempt
• Was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987
• Was the first female athlete to win more than $100,000 in prize money in 1971 during her campaign for equal pay for men and women
• Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U․S․ civilian honor, in August 2009, and was the first female athlete to be honored with it
• Began playing tennis at a young age when she learned to play on public courts near her home
• Quote: "A champion is afraid of losing․ Everyone else is afraid of winning․"
• Quote: "(On being a member of the U․S․ delegation to the 2014 Sochi Olympics): "I think our presence is really important․ I take this very seriously․ The responsibility to stand and possibly speak for those who don't have a voice runs deep․""
• Best known as a former tennis champion and proponent for equal rights
• Faced Bobby Riggs in a highly-publicized 1973 match referred to as the "Battle of the Sexes," which she won despite Riggs's claims that the women's game was inferior
• Was the first president of the Women's Tennis Association in 1974 and was the head of the first professional women's tour, the Virginia Slims, in the 1970s