Billie Jean King was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. Check it out here.
Billie jean king : Battle of the Sexes | WTA | Net worth
Billie Jean Moffitt was born in Long Beach, California, into a conservative Methodist family, the daughter of Betty, a housewife, and Bill Moffitt, a firefighter.
| Tennis career | |
| Country (sports) | United States |
|---|---|
| Turned pro | 1968 |
| Retired | 1990 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| College | California State University, Los Angeles |
| Prize money | $1,966,487 |
Her family was athletic; her mother excelled at swimming, and her father played basketball and baseball, and ran track.
Her younger brother, Randy Moffitt, became a Major League Baseball pitcher, pitching for 12 years in the major leagues for the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Toronto Blue Jays.
She also excelled at baseball and softball as a child, playing shortstop at 10 years old on a team with girls 4–5 years older than she. The team went on to win the Long Beach softball championship.
She switched from softball to tennis at age 11, because her parents suggested she should find a more ‘ladylike’ sport. She saved her own money, $8, to buy her first racquet.
Battle of the Sexes
On September 20, 1973, in a highly publicized “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, top women’s player Billie Jean King, 29, beats Bobby Riggs, 55, a former No. 1 ranked men’s player.
Riggs (1918-1995), a self-proclaimed male chauvinist, had boasted that women were inferior, that they couldn’t handle the pressure of the game and that even at his age he could beat any female player.
The match was a huge media event, witnessed in person by over 30,000 spectators at the Houston Astrodome and by another 50 million TV viewers worldwide.
King made a Cleopatra-style entrance on a gold litter carried by men dressed as ancient slaves, while Riggs arrived in a rickshaw pulled by female models. Legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell called the match, in which King beat Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
King’s achievement not only helped legitimize women’s professional tennis and female athletes, but it was seen as a victory for women’s rights in general.
Billie jean king WTA
King’s French Open win in 1972 made her only the fifth woman in tennis history to win the singles titles at all four Grand Slam events, a “career Grand Slam”.
She also won a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. In women’s doubles, only the Australian Open eluded her.
| Singles | |
|---|---|
| Career record | 695–155 (81.76%) |
| Career titles | 129 (67 during open era) |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1966, Lance Tingay) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1968) |
| French Open | W (1972) |
| Wimbledon | W (1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975) |
| US Open | W (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 87–37 (as shown on WTA website) |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1967) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1965, 1969) |
| French Open | W (1972) |
| Wimbledon | W (1961, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1979) |
| US Open | W (1964, 1967, 1974, 1978, 1980) |
King won a record 20 career titles at Wimbledon – six in singles, 10 in women’s doubles, and four in mixed doubles.
King played 51 Grand Slam singles events from 1959 through 1983, reaching at least the semi-finals in 27 and at least the quarterfinals in 40 of her attempts and was the runner-up in six Grand Slam singles events.
An indicator of her mental toughness in Grand Slam singles tournaments was her 11–2 career record in deuce third sets, i.e., third sets that were tied 5–5 before being resolved.
King won 129 singles titles, 78 of which were WTA titles, and her career prize money totaled US$1,966,487.
Net worth
Billie Jean King is an American retired World No. 1 professional tennis player who has a net worth of $20 million.
| Net Worth: | $20 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Nov 22, 1943 (78 years old) |
| Gender: | Female |
| Height: | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Profession: | Tennis player, Film Producer |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
However, when she won the 1972 U.S. Open, the male champion, Ilie Năstase, received $15,000 more than she did. Billie Jean refused to take part in 1973’s U.S. Open unless the prize money was equal, and the tournament’s organizers complied with her wishes.