Billie Jean King Billie Jean King, born in 1943, American tennis

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King, born in 1943, American tennis player, whose intense competitiveness, outspoken support for better treatment of women players, and victory, in 1973, over former men's star Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match were all instrumental in increasing the popularity of women's tennis. Billie Jean Moffitt was born in Long Beach, California, and educated at Los Angeles State College (now California State College at Los Angeles). In 1965 she married Larry King, a law student. King began playing tennis as a youngster. In 1962, at the age of 18, she unexpectedly defeated Margaret Smith Court--the world's leading women's tennis player--at Wimbledon. King went on to become one of the most successful players in the history of the Wimbledon tournament. She won the Wimbledon singles event six times (1966-1968, 1972, 1973, 1975); the doubles event ten times (1961, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970-1973, 1979); and the mixed doubles event, in which teams are composed of one man and one woman, four times (1967, 1971, 1973, 1974). Her total of 20 Wimbledon titles set a record that has only since been equaled by Martina Navratilova. King was also successful at the United States championships (renamed U.S. Open at the beginning of the so-called open era in 1968), winning the singles title four times (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974) and the doubles title five times (1964, 1967, 1974, 1978, 1980). In 1967 she was the first woman since Alice Marble in 1939 to win the singles, doubles, and mixed titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. championships. King's other major victories during her career included the singles title at the 1968 Australian championships (renamed Australian Open after that year's tournament) and at the 1972 French Open. King was an advocate for equal treatment--and equal prize money--for women in sports, and her defeat of Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match in 1973 proved to many people that women could compete with men in athletics. That same year she helped found the Women's Tennis Association, the international women's professional tour. The next year, with swimmer Donna de Varona, track-and-field athlete Wyomia Tyus, diver Micki King, and speed skater and cyclist Sheila Young, King helped establish the Women's Sports Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing women's sports experiences. After she retired as a player, King worked as a coach and as a television commentator. In 1996 she was chosen to coach the U.S. women's team at that year's Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2006 the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Tennis Center in New York City--home of the U.S. Open--was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in honor of her contributions to the sport. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.