NEW YORK (Aug. 28) – Billie Jean King made quite a name for herself on and off the court, all around the globe.
On opening night at the U.S. Open, the tennis world took care of that for her.
King, a winner of 39 career Grand Slam titles, was honored Monday night when the home of the U.S. Open was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The champion in singles, doubles and mixed doubles made an equally – if not more important mark – as a pioneer for the equality of women.
In addition to 67 singles win on tour, King earned a monumental victory for women’s rights by beating Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battles of the Sexes” match at the Houston Astrodome. The importance of that event was felt around the world.
King was responsible for organizing the Women’s Tennis Association, a union that lobbied for equality in tennis.
“My mom, Betty Moffitt, always told me to follow the Shakespeare saying, ‘To thine own self be true,”‘ said King, as she became emotional on the court while her mother cried in the stands. “I hope to continue to always do that.”
Her mother never saw her play at the U.S. Open but she sat courtside Monday night when King was lauded by such tennis luminaries as Chris Evert, Venus Williams, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors – who like King were champions at New York’s Grand Slam.
Also on hand to commemorate the dedication of the 46 1/2-acre public parks facility to King were New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor David Dinkins. Diana Ross sang “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” before introducing King to the crowd inside a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.
McEnroe, who said he first met King as a teenager at the home of friend Mary Carillo – a former player and TV commentator- had a different take on King’s trailblazing efforts and her win over Riggs.
“I was a 14-year-old, male-chauvinist kid that hoped that Bobby Riggs would kick her (butt),” McEnroe said. “But now that I am a father of four little girls, I have to say for the record I’m glad Billie Jean King won.
“I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Billie Jean King is the single most important person in the history of women’s sports.”
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that’s for sure.
Tough being the leader sometimes.
I remember the Billy Jean King Bobby Riggs match.
Billie Jean King would never have played Bobby Riggs if he hadn’t humiliated women’s number one Margaret Court earlier. He was an aging self-promoter whose best game was 25 years behind him. Think Susan Polgar vs. Sam Sloan.
All right, not to nitpick, but Bobby Riggs was arguably the best tennis player (certainly top five) in the late 30s/1940’s. He was over the hill when he played King, but was much closer in strength to her than Sam Sloan is to Susan. Second… they both admitted since then the match was a bit of a put-on. King legitimately won, but Rigss really wasn’t the sexist the media made him out to be. He and King remained friends until his death from cancer.