Billie Jean King - The Hero
TENNIS - WTA - FOUNDER - WOMEN’S SPORTS FOUNDATION
ARCHETYPE: THE HERO
Day 83/135
Athletic Accomplishments
Billie Jean King is a tennis legend, feminist icon, and undeniable champion. She is one of one. An original.
Growing up, King was an incredible athlete, who excelled in softball before switching to tennis at age 11. From then on, she had her sights set on becoming the best tennis player in the world. And when Billie Jean King sets a goal, you better believe she’s going to achieve it. It’s the only thing she’s ever done.
Known for her speed, aggressiveness at the net, and for a devastating backhand, King competed in professional tennis beginning in 1959. From 1966 through 1975, she held the world No. 1 ranking for six of those 10 years, becoming the most dominant player of her era.
In total, King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, 11 in mixed doubles. She was lights out at Wimbledon—winning a record 20 titles—six in singles, 10 in women’s doubles, and four in mixed doubles.
Things really started to get interesting for King in 1973.
Title IX, the landmark legislation mandating gender equity in use of public resources, had passed in 1972, adding fuel to an already flaring public discussion about women’s rights. King, a longtime advocate for gender equality, used her position atop the tennis world to take on Bobby Riggs—a 55 year-old former professional men’s tennis player—in a head-to-head match that would become called Battle of the Sexes.
King beat Riggs in straight sets, winning $100,000 in prize money in a televised event that attracted 90 million viewers. Game, blouses.
King’s reach extends far beyond the game of tennis, and into her advocacy for gender equality, social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial justice. For her work—still ongoing—she has won tons of acclaim and received many honors, including the following:
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award (1972)
Time Persons of the Year (1975)
International Tennis Hall of Fame (1987)
National Women's Hall of Fame (1990)
Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year lifetime achievement award (2007)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009)
Fed Cup Award of Excellence (2010)
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)
Character Archetype: The Hero
Billie Jean King is a champion. And I’m not just talking about her 39 Grand Slam titles, including 20 at Wimbledon, though, that would be enough to land her among the best tennis players of all time.
I’m talking about how King knows how and when to pick a fight. In 1973, she brought the thunder in the Battle of the Sexes, a head-to-head matchup with former tennis star Bobby Riggs. In the thick of debates on feminism, Title IX, and the sexual revolution, King put it all on the line to win respect not just for herself, but for women athletes.
In front of a televised audience of 90 million viewers, King beat Riggs in straight sets.
She went on to fight for equal compensation, with tennis being one of the few sports where the men and women receive the same prize winnings. She fought to create the Women’s Tennis Association.
King also created the Women’s Sports Foundation, a non-profit that provides critical access, advocacy, and research for girls and women in sports. (Here’s my PROUD plug to remind you that I’m hoping to raise $20,000 for the Women’s Sports Foundation through Recognize. Please donate here!)
King doesn’t punch down and doesn’t back down. She has taken on some of the toughest battles—for gender equity, equal pay, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice. When she fights for something, she comes out swinging. And more often than not, the King stay the King.