Women in sports have had to fight to prove their worth, as both competitors and crowd-worthy entertainment. However, thanks to one woman who took a stand against the discrimination faced by her gender, sports fans saw that being a male did not equal dominance.
Billie Jean King started playing the sport that would make her world famous when she was 11 years old. She aimed high, confidently telling her mother that one day she would be the number one tennis player in the world.
Even as a young player, she experienced discrimination. In a junior tennis tournament, she was prohibited from the group photo as a result of her choice of attire. Instead of the traditional tennis dress, she was wearing shorts sewn by her mother. She used this unfair treatment to encourage her to push her game harder and consider future social advocacy.
She continued to play and pursue excellence in the sport of tennis. In 1961, she and her partner Karen Hantze Susman made history as the youngest doubles pair to win the women’s title at Wimbledon. Billie Jean then changed her training routine to achieve more success and five years later won her first singles title at Wimbledon. Altogether, she won a record total of 20 titles at the prestigious tournament. She then reached her childhood goal and was the number one woman in the tennis world for the first time in 1966; she would achieve this goal four more times.
While she became the first woman in the history of sports to earn $100,000 in a single year, she pushed for equal pay for men and women in the sport. Typically, the male singles winner of a tournament was paid significantly higher than the female singles champion. For example, in 1972 when Billie Jean won the US Open tournament, she was awarded $15,000 less than the male winner. To further the cause, Billie Jean participated in the formation of the Women’s Tennis Association and was its first president. As a result of their efforts, in 1973 the US Open became the first major tournament to provide equal pay for its players regardless of gender.
That same year, the most-watched tennis event in history took place. Self-proclaimed male chauvinist and former number one male tennis player Bobby Riggs bragged he could beat any of the top women players. After he won a match against Margaret Court, Billie Jean knew she had to take up the challenge for her gender. Ninety million television viewers tuned in to watch the event, which had been dubbed “The Battle of the Sexes.” Billie Jean won handily in straight sets, bringing tennis some new fans and giving support to women in sports.
Other contributions for Billie Jean to the world of sports include co-founding World TeamTennis, which had men and women competing together, and the Women’s Sports Foundation, providing girls access to sports. She became the first woman to coach a co-ed team in professional sports, the World TeamTennis Philadelphia Freedoms.
Billie Jean also was the first woman commissioner in the history of professional sports, the first woman to have a major sports venue named after her, and the first prominent female athlete to come out as a lesbian. She continued her work to break down barriers faced by women athletes as well as advocating for gay rights. President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her tireless efforts to champion women’s rights as well as those of the LGBTQ+ community. If you want to read more about her, she has two books available in my bookshop here. This is an affiliate link; thank you for supporting my work.