Billie Jean King is a retired American tennis player. She’s 78 years-old. She competed on the WTA Tour. She was a former World Number 1. King won 12 major singles titles in her career, and 129 singles titles overall. King also played for the United States Fed Cup Team.
Billie Jean King made her professional debut in 1959. In 1962, she beat World Number 1 Margaret Court at Wimbledon. King did not win Wimbledon that year, but it was her biggest career victory up to that point. King won her first major singles title at the 1966 Wimbledon. She repeated as Wimbledon champion in 1967 and 1968. She won back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 1972 and 1973. King won her last Wimbledon singles title in 1975. King won the U.S. Open singles title in 1967, 1971, 1972, and 1974. Her lone French Open victory came in 1972 where she defeated Evonne Goolagong Cawley. King won the Australian Open in 1968 where she beat Margaret Court. King reached World Number 1 in 1966. King won 695 matches in her career. She won 129 career singles titles. She retired from professional tennis in 1990.
Billie Jean King played for the United States at the Fed Cup. The U.S. won the Fed Cup in 1963, 1966, 1967, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979.
Billie Jean King has had a profound impact on the game of tennis and has received several special recognitions, and awards. She earned induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York was renamed the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. It is the location of the U.S. Open, which is the 4th major on the tennis calendar. President Obama awarded Billie Jean King the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. In 2020, the Fed Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup.
Billie Jean King is a member of the LGBT+ community and has been married to her longtime romantic partner Ilana Kloss since 2018.
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