Photo Credit: AP Photo
Long before Serena Williams was the queen of tennis, there was Billie Jean King. King is arguably one of the most talented and famous tennis players of all time, male or female. In addition to being an outstanding athlete, King is also widely known for how she uses her platform to bring attention to multiple different issues. King has laid a framework for what a modern athlete should embody. That’s why this week’s spotlight is all about Billie Jean King.
At age 11, King began her tennis career in 1954 when she played at the Long Beach Public Courts. King’s professional career would begin at age 15, however, making her debut at a Grand Slam at the U.S. Champions, later renamed the US Open. King’s career would span from 1959-1983, but no doubt the biggest moment of King’s career was her matchup against male tennis player, Bobby Riggs. The match would be deemed “Battle Of The Sexes” which took place on September 20, 1973. Although the game would start with King and Riggs making dramatic entrances, the match was anything but a spectacle. The match ended up in King’s favor as she beat known misogynist Riggs. Although King was happy after beating him, she would later reflect on the importance of the match, “I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match…It would ruin the women’s tour and affect all women’s self-esteem.”  Ten years after the infamous matchup, King would retire but would still continue to play doubles until 1990 when she would officially retire.
Later in her life, King’s personal life garnered attention from the public.  King would become the first female athlete to come out as a lesbian in 1981 and went on to become an advocate for the LGBT community, but not before she lost all of her endorsements due to her sexuality. One of the biggest causes that King supports is equal treatment for men and women in sports, especially bringing attention to women’s sports. She founded the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation, both of which are used to empower females in sports and try to get women more involved. King would also use her talents to become a writer, most recently publishing ‘Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes’ which was written in 2008, 35 years after the infamous “Battle Of the Sexes” match.
King’s career as an athlete has already cemented her place in history, but what she chose to do after her career deserves as much credit. She is truly a superstar in every sense of the word and she is most definitely one of the most influential female athletes of all time!
