Tennis legend Billie Jean King has some unfinished business.
King’s athletic achievements are groundbreaking: she’s won 39 Grand Slams, ranked No. 1 nationally a total of six times from 1966 to 1975 and was the first woman in the his- tory of sports to win $100,000 in a single year. She went on to form and serve as president of the Women’s Tennis Association, and she made history in 1973 when she defeated Bobby Riggs in the famed “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match. Dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, King fought hard off court to help achieve pay parity for women’s tennis and is a champion for women’s sports in general. To sum it up, Billie Jean King is a gamechanger on every level. But all her life, one thing has gnawed at her: “I’ve been saying, ‘I never finished school.’”
Taking up tennis at the age of 12 meant she couldn’t do both, not when she had a goal to be the best in the world. But to achieve that, she had to drop out of school. Now, however, King is determined to put that regret in the past. As we start our Zoom, she announces she has just finished history class. She’s got papers to turn in and reading to do while juggling her full-time job. Yes, King is going back to Cal State LA to get her historiography degree. “I’m calling it the road to graduation,” King declares. “I want to finish before I’m out of here.”
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She doesn’t just make history, she loves learning about it. And while she doesn’t have a specific period that she calls her favorite, King says, “I’m always thinking about the future. I’m always thinking about kids and the younger generation, what’s going to happen? How are you going to shape the world?” She adds, “I want everyone to be OK.”
King be cemented in the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 7. Unlike the other female athletes with stars — Sonja Henie, Annette Kellerman and Esther Williams — she is the only one who did not turn to acting.
King discussed this historic moment, the rise of women’s sports and her thoughts on pickleball.
What does this moment, getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, mean to you?
This is great because I’m from Long Beach, Calif., and the Walk of Fame is a big deal, especially in Southern California. We’d go to L.A. all the time for tournaments.
You got your first tennis racquet from Brown Sporting Goods, and at 12 years old, you knew you wanted to be a tennis player. How did you know for certain?
I knew when I was 11 years old when I first went to Houghton Park and had my first free session with Clyde Walker. I think it might have been like one month before I turned 11, and I knew at the end of the day I wanted to be No. 1 in the world. And when I was 12, I had my epiphany about championing equality for the rest of my life, and I knew that tennis was global because I knew all about women. I love history. I’m a huge believer that the more you know about history, the more you know about yourself. The reason I was able to help shape tennis and women’s sports was because I read history all the time.
Althea Gibson was my first hero. I watched her play, and you always wonder, “How good is number one because that’s what I want to be.” I thought I could never be better than Althea. I got to know her over the years which was a real privilege. This year is the 75th year of ending segregation in our sport. Althea was the first Black to play at the US nationals in 1950. Althea is first, of course, I knew all that because I read the history. That’s how every generation helps the next one.
You’re doing DEI work with the Billie Jean King Foundation, which fosters diverse talent. What can we expect in this time when the government and companies are killing DEI?
What I think about is inclusion, and that’s really what this is. When you think about it, it’s just a different way to explain it. We have to get more women on board and have to keep getting equal pay. Just keep your eye on the ball and keep trying to do the right thing. Don’t call it DEI anymore, because people don’t like that. It doesn’t matter what the label is. You just want to do the right thing by every human being.
There’s been a rise in women’s soccer, basketball and rugby, and you are part owner of the Angel City Football Club. What does it mean to see that interest surge?
It means everything. I want everyone to play their sport, whatever they like. I went to college before Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools. My generation really brought things forward and changed things. My generation took tennis from amateur tennis to pro. My generation made it happen, so they get money.
We started women’s professional tennis. Our dream was three things: any girl born in this world if she were good enough, would have a place to compete; that we’d be appreciated for our accomplishments, not only our looks; and number three, that we would be able to make a living because making $14 a day wasn’t working, so we changed it. We caused the birth of wom- en’s professional tennis. We played a tournament for prize money. Rosemary Casals won the first one.
There’s an iconic photo of us holding a $1 bill, and it took a lot of work. Every time I see that, I’m like, “Thank you, God.” That was the birth of women’s professional tennis as you know it today. When Coco Gauff got a check for $4 million, I smiled, because without us going through what we did in 1970, they wouldn’t be getting anything. We started to make money, but we weren’t going to make the big bucks, and we knew it.
We often talk about the “Battle of the Sexes” and that being a game changer. But is there another match in your historic career that was a giant one for you?
That was it because of what I was fighting for. That was the second wave of the women’s movement, and I used to go and plead with Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug and those guys to use us more because, I said, “We are living it. We work and we sweat, and we do all the things you’re fighting for.”
Which players do you enjoy watching on the circuit?
I turn on the Tennis Channel and I have it on all the time, and I watch everybody. I try to pick out each player and what I like or don’t like. They hit the ball so unbelievably. They’re so good now with the technique and the information, it’s just fantastic.
What advice would you give to those young players coming up?
Know the business. Understand the business. Understand everyone’s part in this because when you get finished with tennis and, if you do want to stay in tennis, there’ll be tons of opportunities for you. Why not invest? Larry King (Billie’s former husband) and I owned tournaments. So I understood sponsors, I understood what people wanted. I think it makes a huge difference in making better decisions as a leader. I keep trying to teach the players the business side, not just the playing.
What are your thoughts on pickleball?
I don’t like the noise, and there are so many injuries. My brother-in-law went out to play and just had to have his knee operated on. But I think it’s great that people are moving, and whatever makes people happy … but I still can hit a tennis ball.
You’ll be immortalized on the Walk of Fame next month. Congratulations.
Then we have to get a woman of color. How about Althea Gibson — the first Black woman to win a grand slam?
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tipsheet
WHAT Billie Jean King receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
WHEN April 7, 11:30 AM
WHERE 6284 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
WEB www.walkoffame.com