The legend of women's tennis Billie Jean Moffitt was born in 1943 to a family of a fireman and a housewife. Her father, Bill, was on the verge of the NBA before becoming a firefighter, and her mother, Betty, was a swimmer. Randy - Billie Jean's brother for 11 years played for several baseball teams: San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays.

The first sport Billie Jean took up was basketball. Then she continued with softball and shortstop. At the fifth grade, she asked her father what sport she should start playing, and he guided her to tennis. From the very moment he put the racquet on the ball, Billie Jean knnew what she wanted to do with her life. She began playing on the public courts in Long Beach using a racket she bought herself.

Later, he faced the different standards in men's and women's tennis. At a tournament in Los Angeles in 1955, she was denied a group photo because she was wearing shorts instead of the dress traditionally worn by female tennis players. Billie Jean was deeply affected by this injustice.

She entered the world of professional tennis in 1959, while the former tennis player Alice Marble became her coach. Three years later, together with Karen Hantze Susman, they became the youngest couple to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon.

In 1966, she won her first major singles title - the Wimbledon trophy and she won it in the following two years, too. In 1967 she also enjoyed her triumph at the US Open, and in 1968 at the Australian Open.

In 1966, Billie Jean King achieved the goal she had already set as a young girl - to become No. 1 in the world in women's tennis.

Between 1961 and 1979, Billie Jean won the record of 20 Wimbledon titles (6 singles), 13 US titles (four singles), four Roland Garros titles (one single) and two Australian titles (one single) . Thus, she had a total of 39 Grand Slam titles.

Known for her lightning speed, strong net game and ferocious backhand, Billie Jean's championships are only half of her story.

Off the court, she has fought for equal prize money for men and women. In 1971, King became the first female sportsperson to earn more than $100,000 in prize money, however, the following year she got $15,000 less than the men's champion for her US Open triumph.

In 1973, Billie Jean took advantage of her position to lead the formation of the Women's Tennis Association and became its first president. She lobbied for equal prize money for men and women at the US Open and found a sponsor to provide it. The US Open thus became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money for both sexes.

King's campaign for equal pay attracted a record number of spectators for the Battle of Sexes, where she competed against Bobby Riggs who claimed women's tennis was not that tough. King defeated Riggs 6:4, 6:3, 6:3. No tennis match before or since has been watched by so many people - 90 million.

While she experienced incredible success in her professional life, her personal life shocked many. Billie Jean realized that she was interested in women and began secret relationship in the early 1970s. A decade later, in 1981, it was revealed that she was a lesbian, which led to the loss of many sponsorship contracts. However, she has not stoppped fighting for gender equality.

Billie Jean King was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2006, the US National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, where the US Open was held, was named after her. Three years later, she received the United States' highest civilian honour from President Barack Obama for her advocacy on behalf of women and the LGBTQ community. In 2019, a library was named after her in her native Long Beach.

Her tireless efforts to fight against injustice and discrimination around the world still continue today.

Source: www.vbox7.com