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 Long Beach, California, U.S.
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| 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 | ,966,487 |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1987 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 695–155 (81.76%) |
| 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 included 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was also part of the winning United States team in seven Federation Cups. She also won nine Wightman Cups. For three years, she was the U.S. captain in the Federation Cup.
King is a strong supporter of fairness for everyone. She has worked for equality and social justice for a long time. In 1973, when she was 29, she famously won the "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 sponsor women's tennis in the 1970s.
Many people think King is one of the greatest tennis players ever. She was put into 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. She was also one of Time Persons of the Year in 1975. She has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a lifetime achievement award from Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year. 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, on November 22, 1943. Her family was very athletic. Her mom was a great swimmer. Her dad played basketball and baseball. Her younger brother, Randy Moffitt, became a professional baseball pitcher.
Billie Jean was good at baseball and softball as a kid. At 10, she played shortstop on a team with older girls. Her team even won the Long Beach softball championship.
She switched from softball to tennis when she was 11. Her parents thought tennis was more "ladylike." She saved $8 to buy her first tennis racket. She took her first lesson on public courts in Long Beach. A professional coach, Clyde Walker, gave free lessons. One of the city's tennis places is now named the Billie Jean Moffitt King Tennis Center.
When she was young, she sometimes had problems with the tennis rules. Once, she couldn't be in a group photo because she wore tennis shorts. Her mom had sewn them for her. Everyone else wore white tennis dresses.
When Billie Jean was 13 or 14, her minister, Bob Richards, asked her about her future. She told him, "Reverend, I'm going to be the best tennis player in the world."
She went to Long Beach Polytechnic High School. After graduating in 1961, she went to Los Angeles State College. This school is now California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA). She left college in 1964 to focus on tennis. While in college, she met Larry King in 1963. They got married on September 17, 1965.
Billie Jean King's Amazing Career
In 1972, 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 included 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 almost $2 million.
King was part of the winning United States team seven times in the Federation Cup. Her record there 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 U.S. team won the cup in 10 of the 11 years she played.
Early Years: 1959–1965
Billie Jean King started playing in 1959. She worked with coaches like Frank Brennan and Alice Marble. Marble had won 18 Grand Slam titles herself. King played her first Grand Slam at the 1959 U.S. Championships at age 15. She lost in the first round.
In 1961, King became known internationally. She went to Wimbledon for the first time. There, 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, the World No. 1 player, in the second round. King and Hantze won the doubles title again that year. In 1963, King reached the Wimbledon singles final but lost to Margaret Court.
In 1964, King decided to play tennis full-time. She trained in Australia with coach Mervyn Rose. In 1965, she almost won the U.S. Championships. She was very close to winning against Margaret Court but lost. This loss made her even more determined. She said, "I'm going to win Wimbledon next year."
Prime Competitive Years: 1966–1975
This was a huge time for King's career. She won six of her Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon. Four were at the U.S. Championships/Open. One was at the French Open, and one at the Australian Championships. She reached the final in 16 of 25 Grand Slam attempts. She won 12 of those finals. From 1971 to 1975, she won seven of the ten Grand Slam singles tournaments she played.
King was the World No. 1 player at the end of six of these ten years. She won 97 of her 129 singles titles during this period.
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 her first of twelve Grand Slam singles titles.
1967: Double Grand Slam Wins
King won her second straight 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 the first time a woman had done that since Alice Marble in 1939.
1968: Australian Open and More Wimbledon
In 1968, King won the Australian Championships for the first time. She beat Margaret Court in the final. She then won her third straight Wimbledon singles title. Later that year, she had surgery on her left knee. Doctors thought she would only play for two more years.
1969-1970: Tough Years
1969 was the first year since 1965 that King did not win a Grand Slam singles title. In 1970, Margaret Court won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments. King lost to Court three times that year. At Wimbledon, Court beat King in a very close final. King then had surgery on her right knee.
1971: Most Titles in a Year
Even though she won only one Grand Slam singles title in 1971, this was her best year for winning tournaments. She won 17 titles! She had an amazing record of 112 wins and only 13 losses. She won the US Open without losing a single set.
1972: Career Grand Slam Completed
King won three Grand Slam singles titles in 1972. She chose not to play the Australian Open. She won the French Open without losing a set, 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: The Battle of the Sexes
In 1973, King won her fifth Wimbledon singles title. She beat Chris Evert in the final. 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.
The most famous event of 1973 was the "Battle of the Sexes" match. Bobby Riggs was a former top men's player. He claimed that even a 55-year-old man like him could beat the best female players. He had already beaten Margaret Court. King then accepted his challenge to play for $100,000.
The match was held at the Houston Astrodome on September 20, 1973. It got a lot of attention. Over 30,000 people watched live. Millions more watched on TV around the world. 29-year-old King beat 55-year-old Riggs 6–4, 6–3, 6–3.
King said she felt it was very important to win. She believed losing would hurt women's tennis and women's self-esteem. She said the real thrill was showing many new people what tennis was all about. This match helped women's tennis gain more respect.
1974-1975: More Grand Slam Success
In 1974, King won her fourth US Open singles title. She beat Evonne Goolagong Cawley in a close final. In 1975, King won her sixth Wimbledon singles title. She beat Goolagong Cawley in the final. After this win, she said she was "never coming back" to singles tournaments.
Later Years: 1976–1990
After 1975, King mostly played doubles and mixed doubles. She had more knee surgeries. In 1979, she won her 20th and final Wimbledon title in women's doubles. She partnered with Martina Navratilova. This broke a record for most Wimbledon titles.
In 1982, King made a comeback in singles. She won a tournament in Birmingham. At 38, she became the oldest female semi-finalist at Wimbledon since 1920. She reached the semi-finals again in 1983. She won her last singles title in 1983 at 39 years old. She retired from competitive play in doubles in 1990.
Activism and Impact Beyond the Court
King was not just a great player. She also worked hard to make tennis fairer.
Fair Pay for Players
Before 1968, top players were sometimes paid secretly. King spoke out against this. She wanted tennis to be open to everyone, not just the rich. She helped make tennis a professional sport.
When the "open era" began, King fought for equal prize money. In 1971, she became the first woman athlete to earn over $100,000 in prize money. But there were still differences. In 1972, King won the US Open but got $15,000 less than the men's champion. She said she wouldn't play the next year if the money wasn't equal. In 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money for men and women.
King also helped start the first professional women's tennis tour, the Virginia Slims tour. She worked very hard to promote it.
Leading the Way for Women
In 1973, King became the first president of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). This is the union for women tennis players. In 1974, she helped start womenSports magazine and the Women's Sports Foundation. She also helped create World TeamTennis, a league where men and women play on the same teams. She later became the league's commissioner and an owner.
Billie Jean King's efforts are seen as a big part of the women's rights movement. Her win against Bobby Riggs showed many people that women could achieve great things. She helped create more opportunities for women everywhere.
Other Activities and Honors
King has stayed involved in many causes. She was on the board of directors for Philip Morris for a time. She has also been involved with the Women's Sports Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She served on the President's Council for Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. This council encourages young people to be active.
In 2008, King wrote 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 U.S. at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia. This was a message about fairness for all people.
King and her wife, Ilana Kloss, became minority owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team in 2018. They also own part of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks basketball team. In 2020, they became part of the ownership group for Angel City FC, a women's soccer team.
In 2023, King was on the TV show The Masked Singer as "Royal Hen."
Awards and Tributes
Many famous tennis players have praised King. Margaret Court called her "the greatest competitor I've ever known." Chris Evert said King is her mentor and has "vision people can only dream about."
King has received many awards and honors:
- In 1967, she was the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.
- In 1972, she was the first female athlete to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
- In 1987, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
- In 1990, Life magazine named her one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century."
- In 1999, she received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
- In 2003, she received the Philippe Chatrier Award for her contributions to tennis.
- In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
- On August 12, 2009, President Barack Obama gave King the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of the highest awards in the U.S. She was the first female athlete to receive it.
- In 2013, she was inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
- In 2018, she received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
- In 2019, her hometown of Long Beach, California, named its new main library the Billie Jean King Main Library.
- In 2020, the Fed Cup, a major international team tennis competition, was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in her honor.
- In 2021, she received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in sports and equality.
- In 2022, she was awarded the French Legion of Honour.
- In 2024, she received a Congressional Gold Medal.
Playing Style
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King learned tennis on public courts in Long Beach, California. She was an aggressive player. She hit the ball hard and often rushed to the net. She was also very fast. Chris Evert once said King's only weakness was her impatience.
Images for kids
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Billie Jean Moffitt (later King) in the 1960s at the Irish Open.
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The United States national team tenniswomen in Turin, Italy, holding the Federations Cup 1966.
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Billie Jean King in 1970.
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The dress worn by King in 1973 during the Battle of the Sexes match.
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Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973.
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King in 1978 photographed by Lynn Gilbert.
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Billie Jean King speaking at an event in Des Moines, Iowa.
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The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was rededicated as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
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Billie Jean King in 2016.
See also
In Spanish: Billie Jean King para niños
- All-time tennis records – women's singles
- Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative
- List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
- List of Open Era tennis records
- WTA Tour records
