Billie Jean King
Tennis champion and equality advocate
Billie Jean King is an American former world No. 1 tennis player who won 39 Grand Slam titles and has long campaigned for equality.
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American Born 1943 in Long Beach, United States
About Billie Jean King
Born in California in 1943, King learned the game on public courts in Southern California before reaching the top of the women's game. Her 39 Grand Slam titles came in singles (12), women's doubles (16) and mixed doubles (11). In 1973 she beat Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes match. She started the Women's Tennis Association, set up the Women's Sports Foundation, and co-founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative. The International Tennis Hall of Fame welcomed her in 1987, and she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Since 2020, the Billie Jean King Cup has been the new name of the competition once called the Federation Cup. All In is the book of hers in our catalog.