Billie Jean King

• Residence: USA
• DOB: November 22, 1943
• Birthplace: California, USA
  
• Height: 5' 4" (1.64 m)
• Plays: Right-handed

Biography

Billie Jean King was born November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California and is a former world number 1. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society. She is known for the "The Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, in which she defeated Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon men's champion.

King is the founder of the Women's Tennis Association, the Women's Sports Foundation, and World Team Tennis, which she founded with her former husband, Lawrence King.

King learned to play tennis on the public courts of Long Beach, California. She was an aggressive, hard-hitting net-rusher, with excellent speed. Chris Evert, however, said about King, "Her weakness is her impatience.

Career History