King, Billie Jean

US tennis player. She won a record 20 Wimbledon titles 1961–79 and 39 Grand Slam titles, and fought for equal treatment and equal pay for women tennis players. In 1973 she formed the Women's Tennis Association and the Players' Union. In 1974, with Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona and others, she created the Women's Sports Foundation to support and promote women in sport. That same year, in front of a worldwide audience, she beat Bobby Riggs, a self-confessed chauvinist and critic of women in sport.

Career highlights


Wimbledon
singles: 1966–68, 1972–73, 1975; doubles: 1961–62, 1965, 1967–68, 1970–73, 1979; mixed: 1967, 1971, 1973–74

US Open
singles: 1967, 1971–72, 1974; doubles: 1964, 1967, 1974, 1978, 1980; mixed: 1967, 1971, 1973, 1976

French Open
singles: 1972; doubles: 1972; mixed: 1967, 1970

Australian Open
singles: 1968; mixed: 1968

Fed Cup
playing captain 1976, non-playing captain 1996

Tournament wins
168

King developed her tennis skills through the City Parks Programme. When she arrived on the professional circuit, she brought with her a desire to pursue equality for women players, a desire that would dominate her career. Her first Wimbledon title was the doubles with Karen Hantze in 1961, and her last, also doubles, with Martina Navratilova in 1979. She won the Wimbledon singles title 6 times, the US Open singles title 4 times, the French Open once, and the Australian Open once. Her 39 Grand Slam wins at singles and doubles are third only to Navratilova and Margaret Court.