Billie Jean King is a celebrated American former world No. 1 tennis player. Her illustrious career boasts 39 Grand Slam titles, comprising 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. Beyond her individual achievements, King contributed significantly to team success, representing the United States on seven victorious Federation Cup teams and nine Wightman Cup teams. She's also a champion for gender equality in sports and society.
In 1939, Bobby Riggs won the Wimbledon men's singles title.
In 1967, Billie Jean King became the first woman since Alice Marble in 1939 to win the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships. Alice Marble was the last person to achieve that feat.
In 1941, Bobby Riggs was considered the World No. 1 male tennis player.
On November 22, 1943, Billie Jean King, née Moffitt, was born. She would become a world No. 1 American tennis player.
In 1946, Bobby Riggs was considered the World No. 1 male tennis player.
In 1947, Bobby Riggs was considered the World No. 1 male tennis player.
On January 28, 1948, Marilyn Kathryn McRae (later known as Marilyn Barnett), who would later have a relationship with Billie Jean King, was born.
From 1959 through 1965, Billie Jean King had thirteen unsuccessful attempts to win a Grand Slam singles title.
In 1959, Billie Jean King made her Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Championships at the age of 15 and lost in the first round. Her national tennis ranking was number 19 this year.
In 1959, Billie Jean King played her first Grand Slam singles event.
In 1960, Billie Jean King won her first tournament in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia and District Grass Court Championships. She also reached the final of the National Girls' 18 and Under Championships and her national tennis ranking improved to number 4.
In 1961, Billie Jean King gained international recognition, and she won the Wimbledon women's doubles title in her first attempt, partnering with Karen Hantze. They were the youngest team to win the title. She was 17.
In 1961, Billie Jean King graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
In 1961, Billie Jean King made her debut at Wimbledon.
In 1962, at Wimbledon, Billie Jean King upset Margaret Court, the World No. 1, in a second round match. King and Hantze repeated their doubles victory at Wimbledon.
In 1963, Billie Jean King faced Margaret Court in the Wimbledon final but lost.
In 1963, Billie Jean King met Larry King in a library while attending Cal State.
In 1963, Billie Jean King was on the winning United States team at the Federation Cup.
In 1964, Billie Jean King left Los Angeles State College (now California State University, Los Angeles) to focus on tennis full-time.
In 1964, Billie Jean King won four relatively minor titles but lost to Margaret Court in the Wimbledon semi-finals. She defeated Ann Haydon-Jones at both the Wightman Cup and Fed Cup, and decided to commit to tennis full-time after Robert Mitchell offered to pay for her training in Australia.
In the autumn of 1964, Billie Jean Moffitt got engaged to Larry King.
On September 17, 1965, Billie Jean Moffitt, age 21, married Larry King in Long Beach. They had met in a library in 1963 while she was attending Cal State, and were engaged while still in school.
1969 was the first year since 1965 that Billie Jean King did not win at least one Grand Slam singles title.
From 1959 through 1965, Billie Jean King had thirteen unsuccessful attempts to win a Grand Slam singles title.
In 1965, Billie Jean King continued her tour of Australia. Later that year, at Wimbledon, she lost in the semi-finals to Maria Bueno. At the U.S. Championships, she lost to Margaret Court in the final. The United States Lawn Tennis Association overruled its ranking committee's recommendation and voted to rank Nancy Richey Gunter and King as co-U.S. No. 1.
In December 1967, Billie Jean King returned to the Australian summer tour for the first time since 1965. She participated in seven events, often competing against Judy Tegart, and won four of their matches.
From 1966 through 1975, Billie Jean King and Margaret Court played 35 of the 40 Grand Slam singles tournaments. They together won 24 of them.
In 1966, Billie Jean King was on the winning United States team at the Federation Cup.
In 1966, Billie Jean King was the year-ending World No. 1.
In 1966, Billie Jean King won the first of her six singles titles at Wimbledon, defeating Margaret Court in the semi-finals and Maria Bueno in the final. She also ended her nine-match losing streak to Margaret Court by defeating her in the final of the South African Tennis Championships.
In 1967, Billie Jean King criticized the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA), denouncing the practice of "shamateurism" where top players were paid under the table. She argued that this was corrupt and elitist.
In 1967, Billie Jean King defended her title at the South African Tennis Championships, won her second consecutive Wimbledon singles title, and claimed her first U.S. Championships singles title without dropping a set. She also achieved the feat of winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships, a milestone not seen since 1939.
In 1967, Billie Jean King was on the winning United States team at the Federation Cup.
Before the start of the open era in 1968, Billie Jean King earned US$100 a week as a playground instructor and student at California State University, Los Angeles when not playing in major tennis tournaments.
In early 1968, Billie Jean King secured three consecutive tournament victories in Australia, winning the Western Australia Championships, the Tasmanian Championships, and the Australian Championships. She later underwent knee surgery in September of 1968 to repair cartilage, causing her to miss the remainder of the year's tournaments.
In May 1969, Billie Jean King reported that it took approximately eight months for her knee to fully recover following surgery she had in September 1968.
In 1969, Billie Jean King participated in the Australian summer tour but did not win a tournament. She reached the final of the Australian Open, losing to Margaret Court. Later in the year, she won the Pacific Coast Pro, the Los Angeles Pro, and the South African Open. King finished the year with titles at the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles, the Stockholm Indoors, and the Midland (Texas) Pro.
In September 1970, due to the significant prize money discrepancy between men and women at the Pacific Southwest Open, where men's top prize was $12,500 compared to women's $1,500 and unequal expense coverage, Billie Jean King and eight other women boycotted the tournament. This led to them organizing the women-only Houston Virginia Slims Invitational, which helped launch a series of women-only tournaments.
During the Pacific Southwest Open in 1969, Billie Jean King expressed optimism for 1970, stating she felt like a kid again and expected a big year due to renewed motivation, despite a challenging year with tennis elbow.
Margaret Court won the Grand Slam in 1970. This is in reference to her missing significant portions of 1971 and 1972 due to childbirth.
Billie Jean King reflects on not playing the Australian Open in late 1971.
From 1971 through 1975, Billie Jean King won seven of the ten Grand Slam singles tournaments she played, beginning a streak of success.
In 1971, Billie Jean King became the first female tennis player to earn $100,000 in a year, resulting in a congratulatory phone call from President Richard M. Nixon. In August, King won the indoor Houston tournament and the U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships in Indianapolis. She then won the US Open without losing a set.
In 1971, Billie Jean King won 17 tournaments, making it the best year of her career in terms of tournament wins. She played in 31 singles tournaments, achieving a 112–13 win–loss record.
In 1971, King had an abortion that was made public in a Ms. magazine article after Larry revealed it without her consent.
In 1971, Larry King created the idea to form a nine player women's tennis group with the backing of World Tennis magazine and Virginia Slims sponsorship. Billie Jean King became the first woman athlete to earn over US$100,000 in prize money that year.
In 1971, Margaret Court missed significant portions of the season due to childbirth.
In early May 1971, Billie Jean King lost a second-round match at Hurlingham. However, she rebounded the following week to win the German Open in Hamburg. Four weeks later, she lost to Margaret Court at the Queen's Club tournament in London.
In 1972, Billie Jean King was the joint winner, with John Wooden, of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award.
In 1972, Billie Jean King won the French Open and completed a career singles Grand Slam.
In 1972, Billie Jean King won the US Open but received US$15,000 less than the men's champion Ilie Năstase, prompting her to advocate for equal prize money.
In 1972, Billie Jean King won three Grand Slam singles titles, but chose not to play the Australian Open due to its minor-league status at the time and her commitment to the Virginia Slims winter tournaments.
In 1972, Billie Jean King's French Open win made her the fifth woman in tennis history to win the singles titles at all four Grand Slam events, achieving a "career Grand Slam".
In 1972, Margaret Court missed significant portions of the season due to childbirth.
In early 1972, Billie Jean King admitted that cramps associated with an abortion caused her to retire from a match with Chris Evert in St. Petersburg after splitting the first two sets.
On September 20, 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" match at the Houston Astrodome. The match was viewed by a large audience and is considered significant for women's tennis recognition.
In 1973, Billie Jean King became the first president of the women's players union – the Women's Tennis Association.
In 1973, Billie Jean King completed the Triple Crown at Wimbledon, winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles titles, becoming the first player to achieve this in the Open Era. She then resumed her rivalry with Margaret Court at the Virginia Slims of Nashville tournament. Later, at the US Open, she retired from her fourth-round match due to illness and heat. The Battle of the Sexes against Bobby Riggs also took place in 1973 during the Virginia Slims of Houston tournament, which she won.
In 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match, winning $100,000, which is equivalent to $707,000 in 2024.
In 1973, Billie Jean King's husband Larry co-founded World Team Tennis with Dennis Murphy, Jordan Kaiser, and Fred Barman.
In 1973, Margaret Court dominated women's tennis, winning three Grand Slam singles titles and securing the world No. 1 ranking. Billie Jean King started inconsistently due to a wrist injury.
In 1973, at the age of 29, Billie Jean King won the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match against 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. She was also the founder of the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation, and was instrumental in persuading Virginia Slims to sponsor women's tennis.
In 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money for men and women, following Billie Jean King's advocacy.
In 1974, Billie Jean King won five of the first seven tournaments she contested, including the Virginia Slims of San Francisco and the U.S. Indoor Championships, and she also won her fourth singles title at the US Open.
In 1974, Billie Jean King, along with her husband Larry King and Jim Jorgensen, founded womenSports magazine and started the Women's Sports Foundation.
In 1974, World TeamTennis (WTT) began, co-founded by Billie Jean King's husband Larry with Dennis Murphy, Jordan Kaiser, and Fred Barman.
From 1966 through 1975, Billie Jean King and Margaret Court played 35 of the 40 Grand Slam singles tournaments. They together won 24 of them.
From 1966 through 1975, Billie Jean King was the year-ending World No. 1 in six of those years.
From 1971 through 1975, Billie Jean King won seven of the ten Grand Slam singles tournaments she played, ending a successful streak.
In 1975, Billie Jean King played singles only half the year before temporarily retiring from tournament singles competition after winning her sixth Wimbledon singles title.
In 1975, Billie Jean King was one of the Time Persons of the Year.
Billie Jean King spent the first three months of 1977 rehabilitating her right knee after surgery in November 1976.
In November 1976, Billie Jean King had knee surgery for the third time on her right knee.
In 1976, Billie Jean King competed at Wimbledon
In 1976, Billie Jean King primarily played doubles and mixed doubles, partnering with Phil Dent to win the mixed doubles title at the US Open. She later had her third knee surgery in November.
In 1976, Billie Jean King was on the winning United States team at the Federation Cup.
In March 1977, Billie Jean King requested a wild card entry to the Virginia Slims Championships, and later decided to play the Lionel Cup tournament, drawing criticism for the tournament's inclusion of Renée Richards. King eventually won the tournament.
In 1977, Billie Jean King played Maria Bueno for the last time at Wimbledon, where she lost to Chris Evert in the quarterfinals. It was the first time King had competed at Wimbledon without reaching a final since 1961.
In 1977, Billie Jean King recalled that doctors had predicted in 1968 that her left knee would only allow her to play competitive tennis for two more years.
In December 1978, Billie Jean King had major surgery to her left foot
In 1978, Billie Jean King played ten singles tournaments during the first half of the year, after Wimbledon she focused on doubles.
In 1978, Billie Jean King teamed with Martina Navratilova to win the women's doubles title at the US Open and was undefeated in Federation Cup doubles matches. She underwent foot surgery in December.
In 1979, Billie Jean King played only one event, doubles in the Federation Cup, due to surgery on her left foot in December 1978.
In 1979, Billie Jean King was on the winning United States team at the Federation Cup.
In 1979, several top players including Martina Navratilova and Rosemary Casals were asked who they would pick to help them recover from a hypothetical deficit of 1–5 (15–40) in the third set of a match on Wimbledon's Centre Court, and they picked Billie Jean King.
In 1980, Billie Jean King competed at Wimbledon, not reaching the final.
In 1980, Billie Jean King played the French Open for the first time since she won the event in 1972, losing in the quarterfinals.
In May 1981, Marilyn Barnett, King's former secretary, filed a palimony lawsuit against Billie Jean and Larry King, seeking half of their income and the Malibu house she had been staying in. This lawsuit followed a suicide attempt by Barnett. Billie Jean acknowledged the relationship with Marilyn shortly afterward, becoming the first prominent female professional athlete to come out.
In December 1981, a court order stipulated that Barnett leave the house due to her palimony suit against King. Barnett's threats to publish private correspondence in exchange for money were considered close to extortion.
In 1981, Billie Jean King teamed with Martina Navratilova to win her 39th and final Grand Slam title at the US Open. Navratilova then decided she wanted a new doubles partner, leading to a confrontation with King.
In November 1982, Barnett's palimony suit against King was thrown out of court, resolving the legal challenge.
In 1982, Billie Jean King became commissioner of World TeamTennis.
In 1982, Billie Jean King competed at Wimbledon, not reaching the final.
In her 1982 autobiography, Billie Jean King claimed that she intentionally lost a match in Long Beach to Françoise Dürr due to an argument with her husband.
In March 1983, the house contested in the palimony suit was destroyed during a series of storms that struck the southern California coastline.
In 1983, Billie Jean King played her last Grand Slam singles event.
In 1984, Billie Jean King and Vijay Amritraj were seeded sixth for the Wimbledon mixed doubles, but they withdrew before the tournament began.
In 1984, Billie Jean King became a major owner in World TeamTennis.
In 1987, Billie Jean King was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
In 1987, Billie Jean and Larry's marriage ended after Billie Jean fell in love with her doubles partner, Ilana Kloss. Despite the end of their marriage, Billie Jean and Larry remained close.
In March 1990, Billie Jean King retired from competitive doubles play. Her last match was a second round loss at the Virginia Slims of Florida tournament, partnering with Jennifer Capriati, against Brenda Schultz-McCarthy and Andrea Temesvári.
In 1990, Billie Jean King was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
In 1996, as captain of the United States Fed Cup team, Billie Jean King guided the U.S. to the Fed Cup championship and helped Lindsay Davenport, Gigi Fernández, and Mary Joe Fernández capture Olympic gold medals.
In 1999, Billie Jean King was elected to serve on the board of directors of Philip Morris Incorporated, which garnered criticism from anti-tobacco groups.
In 2002, Billie Jean King dismissed Jennifer Capriati from the Fed Cup team for violating rules about personal coaches, which sparked controversy.
In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
In 2008, the Sports Museum of America opened, featuring the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center, a comprehensive women's sports hall of fame and exhibit. King is a member of the Board of Honorary Trustees for the museum.
In 2010, Billie Jean King was bestowed with the Fed Cup Award of Excellence.
As of 2012, Billie Jean King was involved in the Women's Sports Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She also served on the President's Council for Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.
In December 2013, US President Barack Obama appointed Billie Jean King and Caitlin Cahow to represent the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This was seen as a signal on gay rights, but King later withdrew due to her mother's illness.
On February 7, 2014, Betty Moffitt, Billie Jean King's mother, died. This was the same day as the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
On June 16, 2017, Billie Jean King delivered the commencement address at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
In 2017, Billie Jean King sold her majority ownership stake of the World Team Tennis (WTT) league to Mark Ein and Fred Luddy. She had been involved with the league for decades.
In September 2018, Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss became minority owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
On October 18, 2018, King and Kloss were married in a secret ceremony by former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.
In 2018, Billie Jean King attended the 75th Golden Globe Awards as a guest of Emma Stone.
In 2018, Billie Jean King won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
In October 2020, Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss became part of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles–based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022.
In 2020, the Federation Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in her honor.
In May 2022, the Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises partnered with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) with the intent to create a new professional women's ice hockey league in North America.
In 2022, Angel City FC, of which Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss are part of the ownership group, started playing in the National Women's Soccer League.
In 2022, Billie Jean King was awarded the French Legion of Honour.
On June 29, 2023, the Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises, headed by Mark Walter and Billie Jean King respectively, purchased the intellectual property and key elements of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). This buyout resulted in a single women's professional ice hockey league in North America, with the new league beginning on January 1, 2024.
In 2023, Billie Jean King competed in season ten of "The Masked Singer" as "Royal Hen". She was the first of Group B to be eliminated on "A Celebration of Elton John".
On January 1, 2024, the new professional women's ice hockey league in North America began, following the purchase of the PHF in June 2023 by the Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises. The first game was played between New York and Toronto in Toronto.
In 2024, Billie Jean King received a Congressional Gold Medal.
In 2024, the $100,000 won by Billie Jean King in 1973 after defeating Bobby Riggs is the equivalent of $707,000.
In 2024, the value of $8 that Billie Jean King saved to buy her first racket in 1954 would be $92.40.
In 2025, Billie Jean King returned to Los Angeles State College, now California State University, Los Angeles, to complete her degree.
In May 2026, Billie Jean King, at age 82, completes her degree in history at California State University, Los Angeles, after returning to school in 2025.
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