Billie Jean King facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Billie Jean King
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King in 2011
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| Born |
Billie Jean Moffitt
November 22, 1943 |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Spouse(s) | |
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Tennis career |
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| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Turned pro | 1968 |
| Retired | 1990 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| College | California State University, Los Angeles |
| Prize money | $1,966,487 |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1987 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 1124–262 (81.1%) |
| Career titles | 129 (67 during Open Era) |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1966, Lance Tingay) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1968) |
| French Open | W (1972) |
| Wimbledon | W (1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975) |
| US Open | W (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 87–37 (as shown on WTA website) |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1967) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1965, 1969) |
| French Open | W (1972) |
| Wimbledon | W (1961, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1979) |
| US Open | W (1964, 1967, 1974, 1978, 1980) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (1974, 1976, 1978, 1980) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 11 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1968) |
| French Open | W (1967, 1970) |
| Wimbledon | W (1967, 1971, 1973, 1974) |
| US Open | W (1967, 1971, 1973, 1976) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | W (1963, 1966, 1967, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979) (as player) W (1976, 1996, 1999, 2000) (as captain) |
| Coaching career | |
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Tim Mayotte
Martina Navratilova |
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Billie Jean King (born November 22, 1943), also known as BJK, is a famous American former world No. 1 tennis player. She won an amazing 39 Grand Slam titles. These include 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. She also helped the United States win the Federation Cup seven times. She also won the Wightman Cup nine times.
Billie Jean King is a strong supporter of fairness for everyone. She has worked hard for equality and social justice for a long time. In 1973, when she was 29, she won the famous "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match. She played against 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. King also started the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. She helped convince a cigarette brand, Virginia Slims, to support women's tennis in the 1970s.
King was added to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. She received the Fed Cup Award of Excellence in 2010. In 1972, she was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year along with John Wooden. She was also one of Time magazine's Persons of the Year in 1975. She has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a lifetime achievement award from the Sunday Times. In 1990, she joined the National Women's Hall of Fame. In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in her honor. In 2018, she won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. The Federation Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020. In 2022, she received the French Legion of Honour. In 2024, she was given a Congressional Gold Medal.
Contents
Early Life and Tennis Beginnings
Billie Jean Moffitt was born in Long Beach, California. Her family was very athletic. Her mother was a great swimmer. Her father played basketball and baseball. Her younger brother, Randy Moffitt, became a professional baseball pitcher.
Billie Jean was good at baseball and softball as a child. At 10, she played shortstop on a team with older girls. Her team won the Long Beach softball championship.
She started playing tennis at age 11. Her parents thought it was a more "ladylike" sport. She saved $8 to buy her first racket. She took free lessons from a coach named Clyde Walker. One of the city's tennis places is now called the Billie Jean Moffitt King Tennis Center. When she was young, she was once not allowed in a group picture because she wore tennis shorts instead of a dress.
When she was 13 or 14, her minister asked her what she wanted to do with her life. She said, "Reverend, I'm going to be the best tennis player in the world."
King went to Long Beach Polytechnic High School. After graduating in 1961, she went to Los Angeles State College. She left college in 1964 to focus on tennis. She met Larry King in college in 1963. They got married on September 17, 1965.
Tennis Career Highlights
In 1972, Billie Jean King won the French Open. This made her only the fifth woman in tennis history to win all four Grand Slam singles titles. This is called a "career Grand Slam." She also won a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. Only the Australian Open women's doubles title was missing from her collection.
King won a record 20 titles at Wimbledon. This includes six in singles, 10 in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles.
She played in 51 Grand Slam singles events from 1959 to 1983. She reached at least the semi-finals in 27 of them. She made it to the quarterfinals in 40 events. King was the runner-up in six Grand Slam singles events. She won 129 singles titles in total. Her career prize money was nearly $2 million.
King was part of the winning United States team in the Federation Cup seven times. Her record in these matches was 52 wins and only 4 losses. She won her last 30 matches in the Federation Cup. In the Wightman Cup, she won 22 matches and lost 4. The United States won the cup in 10 of the 11 years she played.
Early Years: 1959–1963
Billie Jean King started competing in 1959. She worked with coaches like Frank Brennan and Alice Marble. She played her first Grand Slam at the 1959 U.S. Championships when she was 15. She lost in the first round.
In 1961, she gained international attention at Wimbledon. She won the women's doubles title with Karen Hantze. King was 17 and Hantze was 18. They were the youngest team to win that title. In 1962, King surprised everyone at Wimbledon. She beat Margaret Court, who was the World No. 1 player. King and Hantze won the doubles title again that year. In 1963, King reached the Wimbledon final but lost to Margaret Court.
Becoming a Champion: 1964–1975
In 1964, King decided to play tennis full-time. She trained in Australia. In 1965, she reached the U.S. Championships final. She lost to Margaret Court but realized she was good enough to be the best. She won six tournaments that year.
1966: First Wimbledon Title
In 1966, King finally won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon. She was 22 years old. She beat Margaret Court in the semi-finals and Maria Bueno in the final. This was the first of her six Wimbledon singles titles.
1967: Double Grand Slam Wins
King won her second Wimbledon singles title in 1967. She also won the U.S. Championships for the first time. She won the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships. This was a huge achievement.
1968: Australian Open Victory
In early 1968, King won the Australian Championships for the first time. She beat Judy Tegart-Dalton in the semi-finals and Margaret Court in the final. She then won her third straight Wimbledon singles title. Later that year, she had knee surgery.
1969–1970: Tough Years
King faced tough competition in 1969 and 1970. She reached the Australian Open final in 1969 but lost to Margaret Court. At Wimbledon in 1970, she played a very close final against Margaret Court, losing in a long match. She had another knee surgery in 1970.
1971: A Record-Breaking Year
Even though she won only one Grand Slam singles title in 1971, it was her best year for winning tournaments. She won 17 titles. She had a record of 112 wins and only 13 losses. She won the US Open without losing a set. In 1971, King became the first female tennis player to earn $100,000 in a single year. President Richard M. Nixon even called her to congratulate her.
1972: Three Grand Slam Titles
In 1972, King won three Grand Slam singles titles. She chose not to play the Australian Open. She won the French Open, completing her career Grand Slam. She then won Wimbledon for the fourth time. She also won the US Open again without losing a set.
1973: Wimbledon and the Battle of the Sexes
In 1973, King won her fifth Wimbledon singles title. She also won the "Triple Crown" at Wimbledon. This means she won the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles titles in the same year. She is the only player to do this at Wimbledon in the Open Era.
The Battle of the Sexes
In 1973, King played a famous exhibition match against Bobby Riggs. Riggs was a former top male player. He claimed that even at 55 years old, he could beat the best female players. He had already beaten Margaret Court. King accepted his challenge for $100,000.
The match was called "the Battle of the Sexes." It took place on September 20, 1973, at the Houston Astrodome. Over 30,000 people watched in person, and millions more watched on TV. King, then 29, beat Riggs 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. This match was very important for women's tennis. King said she felt it would set women back 50 years if she didn't win. She also said the thrill was showing tennis to many new people.
1974–1975: More Grand Slam Success
In 1974, King won her fourth US Open singles title. She beat Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the final. In 1975, King won her sixth Wimbledon singles title. She beat Evonne Goolagong Cawley again in a very one-sided final. After this win, she said she was "never coming back" to singles tournaments, though she did play again later.
Later Years: 1976–1990
1976–1978: Focus on Doubles and Comeback
After 1975, King mostly played doubles and mixed doubles. She won the mixed doubles title at the US Open in 1976 with Phil Dent. She had another knee surgery in late 1976. In 1977, she started playing singles again. She reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open. In 1978, she continued to play singles but focused more on doubles after Wimbledon. She won the US Open women's doubles title with Martina Navratilova.
1979–1981: Final Wimbledon Title
In 1979, King had surgery on her left foot. She returned to singles play at Wimbledon. She partnered with Martina Navratilova to win her 20th and final Wimbledon title in women's doubles. This broke a long-standing record. At the US Open, she reached the semi-finals. In 1980, she played the French Open for the first time since 1972. She reached the quarterfinals. She also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in a very close match against Navratilova. King won her 39th and final Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1980, again with Navratilova in doubles.
1982–1983: Final Singles Appearances
In 1982, King made a comeback in singles. She won a tournament in Birmingham, her first singles title in over two years. At 38, she reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon, becoming the oldest female semi-finalist since 1920. She beat Tracy Austin in the quarterfinals. In 1983, she reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon again. She became the oldest WTA player to win a singles tournament when she won the Edgbaston Cup at 39 years old. She played her last official singles match at the 1983 Australian Open.
1984 to Present: Retirement and Coaching
King played doubles occasionally until 1990, when she officially retired from competitive play. After retiring, she became the captain of the United States Fed Cup team. She also coached the women's Olympic tennis squad. She led the U.S. to the Fed Cup championship in 1996. She helped players like Lindsay Davenport win Olympic gold medals.
Advocacy and Other Activities
Fighting for Fair Pay
Before 1968, when tennis became professional, King earned very little money as a player. She spoke out against unfair practices where top players were paid secretly. She believed this made tennis too exclusive. King played a big part in making tennis a professional sport.
When professional tennis began, King fought for equal prize money for men and women. In 1971, she became the first woman athlete to earn over $100,000 in prize money. However, there were still big differences. In 1972, she won the US Open but received $15,000 less than the men's champion. She said she would not play the next year if the prize money was not equal. In 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money for men and women.
King helped start the first professional women's tennis tour in the 1970s, called the Virginia Slims. She worked very hard to promote it.
In 1973, King became the first president of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). In 1974, she helped start womenSports magazine and the Women's Sports Foundation. She also helped found World TeamTennis, a league where men and women play on the same teams. She remained involved with World TeamTennis for decades.
King is a member of the Board of Honorary Trustees for the Sports Museum of America. This museum has the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center.
Other Contributions
King has been involved with the Women's Sports Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She also served on the President's Council for Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. This encouraged young people to stay active.
In 2008, King published a book called Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes.
In 2013, President Barack Obama chose King to represent the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This was seen as a message about fairness for all people. King had to withdraw because her mother was ill.
In 2018, King and her partner Ilana Kloss became minority owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. They also became owners of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks basketball team. In 2020, they joined the ownership group of Angel City FC, a women's soccer team.
In 2023, King helped create a new professional women's ice hockey league in North America.
Awards and Honors
Billie Jean King has received many awards and honors for her achievements and her work for equality.
- She was the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 1967.
- In 1972, she was the first female athlete to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
- She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
- Life magazine named her one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" in 1990.
- She received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 1999.
- In 2003, the International Tennis Federation gave her the Philippe Chatrier Award for her contributions to tennis.
- The Billie Awards, named after and hosted by King, started in 2006.
- On August 28, 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
- In 2006, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
- On August 12, 2009, President Barack Obama gave King the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This was for her work for women's rights and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. She was the first female athlete to receive this award.
- She was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011.
- In 2014, she was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25.
- King received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
- Cal State LA's athletic facility is named the Billie Jean King Sports Complex.
- In 2019, the Long Beach Public Library's main library was named the Billie Jean King Main Library.
- The Fed Cup, a major international team tennis competition, was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in her honor in 2020.
- She is a two-time World Series champion as part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- In 2021, King received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award for her tennis excellence and work for equality.
- In June 2022, she received the French Legion of Honour from President Emmanuel Macron.
- She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In 2024, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
- King received a Congressional Gold Medal in September 2024 for her leadership in advancing equal rights.
Playing Style
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Billie Jean King learned tennis on public courts in Long Beach, California. She was coached by Clyde Walker. She was known for her aggressive, hard-hitting style. She often rushed to the net during matches. She was also very fast on the court.
King was a perfectionist and a strong competitor. She always aimed to hit shots perfectly. She believed that to be the best, you must never show weakness. She said that champions play their weaknesses better when it matters most.
Images for kids
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Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973
See also
In Spanish: Billie Jean King para niños
