How Billie Jean King fought for equality in sport

Billie Jean King has become a colorful figure in the struggle of female athletes for equal rights and equal prize money with men. Born with an unwavering character, she has spent her life fighting stereotypical thinking and people’s lack of respect for each other. We tell you about the complicated career path of a living legend of women’s tennis.

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How steel was forged

Billie Jean was born into a farmer’s family and, according to the unspoken laws of the time, she was expected to be a housewife. But this did not suit the future tennis player, she did not allow herself to point from childhood. Love for sports was instilled in her brother, who played with friends in American soccer, softball, basketball and baseball.

At the age of 10, Billie Jean was taken to the softball team in Long Beach, although the other girls on the team were already 15. But the age difference didn’t stop Mrs. Moffitt (King’s last name was taken after her marriage – Ed.) from bringing wins to the team. She could have become a successful softball player, but once she tried tennis, she stayed in it forever. After every practice, Billie Jean confidently told her parents: “Practice went great. I want to play tennis forever.”

The young athlete had almost no money to buy her own uniforms and equipment. Saving $ 8, Billie Jean bought a racket, and replaced the tennis skirt with simple shorts, which caused outrage among the public and other tennis players. But King didn’t care much: she was sure that neither prejudices nor stereotypes could hinder her on the way to success.

Professional sport ended for Billie Jean at the age of 40 with her last win of the season. The record of this WTA age-group victory is still unbroken by anyone.

Struggling with men’s rules

Billie Jean has never been inferior to men in sports, so she introduced their techniques to women’s tennis. Her powerful serve and flying shots destroyed her opponents and helped her win 12 Grand Slam titles and 129 titles over a 24-year career.

King also struggled mightily with tournament organizers. It was inconceivable to her that the prize money for men was two and a half times more than for women (in the 60’s the winners of Wimbledon received £ 2 thousand, and the winners – only £ 750).

She boycotted participation in competitions, blackmailed sponsors and had no fear of ruining her own career. In 1973, the US Open was the first to offer equal prize money to girls and men, an idea supported by the rest of the Grand Slam tournaments.

Conflict between tennis players and Jack Kramer

Jack Kramer was the organizer of the Pacific Southwest Championships. He refused to raise the prize money for the girls. Kramer was convinced that women’s tennis didn’t sell, so the tennis players should be paid less for their play. But he was deeply mistaken.

Rosie Casals, Nancy Ritchie, Kerri Melville, Jane Bartkowicz, Christie Pidgeon, Judy Dalton, Valerie Ziegenfuss and Billie Jean King declined to play in Kramer’s tournament. Instead, they signed a contract with World Tennis magazine and cigarette brand Virginia Slims, at whose expense they held new competitions in Houston. They were an incredible spectator success, and the very next year all the players went to the new women’s tennis association, the WTA.

We knew we were making history and we were moving towards our goal. We wanted to give every tennis player the opportunity to make a living from the game.

Billie Jean King

Sponsors, TV contracts, new tournaments and additional PR made women’s tennis independent from men’s tennis, and in 1971 Billie Jean’s annual prize money income amounted to a record $100,000.

Battle of the Sexes

In 1973, the sports drama “Battle of the Sexes” was aired, which broke all viewing records (40 million Americans watched the movie live). According to the plot, the match between Billie Jean and Bobby Riggs, a tennis player’s friend and self-proclaimed sexist, was to decide once and for all whether women can play tennis on an equal footing with men, or whether they belong “in the kitchen and bedroom,” as Riggs himself repeatedly stated.

Billie Jean won the competition, setting a bright spot in the struggle for equal rights.