The tennis player has dominated the tennis court during her glory days. She is considered to be one of the GOATs in the field of tennis. She has won a record Grand Slams of 39. She has been a part of the the Federation Cup and Wightman Cup several times. As she comes from the United States nationality, she represented her country in both these tournaments. She has been the recipient of several awards and honorary titles. In 1987, she was represented in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the then President , Barack Obama.
Apart from tennis, she has been battling for the cause of gender equality. She had also won the Battle of sexes game against Bobby Riggs in 1973. She has also published few books and been part of documentaries. She published her book , “Pressure Is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes” in 2008 and recently, also published another book, “All In: An Autobiography” in 2021. She has also been the executive producer for the documentaries, “The Battle of the Sexes” and “Althea.” She was also played by Emma stone in the film Battle of Sexes. In this article, we discuss about the personal life, career and net worth of the former tennis player. So let us begin without further ado.
Billie Jean King early life and career
Billie Jean King was born in a conservative Methodist family. She started playing softball and basketball in the initial period of her life. She took up tennis at the age of 11 because it was more suited to a girl. She received her lessons from tennis professional Clyde Walker. She joined college after her high school but soon gave up to focus more on her tennis career.
She started playing as a professional tennis player in 1959. She also became the youngest player to win the doubles title in Wimbledon with fellow mate, Karen Hantze Susman. From the period 1966-68, she won Wimbledon titles thrice, one US Open title and one Australian Open title. She was also named as the number 1 tennis player from the period 1966-74. From 1974, she has won a record 20 Wimbledon titles, four French titles, 13 United States titles and two Australian titles.
The Battle of Sexes game was watched by people from over 35 countries. She also founded the World Team Tennis along with her husband. She was in charge of selecting the female players for this tournament. She played for the Philadelphia freedoms and Elton John wrote a song in her honor that goes by the same name. In 1984, she became the first female commissioner of the WTT .
After she retired from professional game, she became the captain of the U.S. Fed Cup team and also the coach for the Olympics team. In 2020, the Fed Cup was renamed as the Billie Jean King Cup. She has championed several causes for equality of women in sports. She has also fought for equal prize money for both the sexes.
Billie Jean King Net worth
She has a current net worth of $20 million. The 78 year old tennis star has achieved a milestone in her career. She has won several Grand Slam titles making her one of the greatest in the game. She had paved the way for other female athletes of the game. She also been a favourite among the fans due to her game and being vocal about gender equality. She has had a golden career indeed.
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