‘Tennis taught me so many lessons in life. One of the things it taught me is that every ball that comes to me I have to make a decision. I have to accept responsibility for the consequences every time I hit a ball.’
Tennis legend Billie Jean King has some unfinished business.
King’s athletic achievements are groundbreaking: she’s won 39 Grand Slams, ranked No. 1 nationally a total of six times from 1966 to 1975 and was the first woman in the his- tory of sports to win $100,000 in a single year. She went on to form and serve as president of the Women’s Tennis Association, and she made history in 1973 when she defeated Bobby Riggs in the famed “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match. Dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, King fought hard off court to help achieve pay parity for women’s tennis and is a champion for women’s sports in general. To sum it up, Billie Jean King is a gamechanger on every level. But all her life, one thing has gnawed at her: “I’ve been saying, ‘I never finished school.’
Taking up tennis at the age of 12 meant she couldn’t do both, not when she had a goal to be the best in the world. But to achieve that, she had to drop out of school. Now, however, King is determined to put that regret in the past. As we start our Zoom, she announces she has just finished history class. She’s got papers to turn in and reading to do while juggling her full-time job. Yes, King is going back to Cal State LA to get her historiography degree. “I’m calling it the road to graduation,” King declares. “I want to finish before I’m out of here.”
‘My whole life has been about equal rights and opportunities. For me it really goes back to the health of mind, body and soul.’
”…Althea Gibson was my first hero. I watched her play, and you always wonder, “How good is number one because that’s what I want to be.” I thought I could never be better than Althea. I got to know her over the years which was a real privilege. This year is the 75th year of ending segregation in our sport. Althea was the first Black to play at the US nationals in 1950. Althea is first, of course, I knew all that because I read the history. That’s how every generation helps the next one….
...What I think about is inclusion, and that’s really what this is. When you think about it, it’s just a different way to explain it. We have to get more women on board and have to keep getting equal pay. Just keep your eye on the ball and keep trying to do the right thing. Don’t call it DEI anymore, because people don’t like that. It doesn’t matter what the label is. You just want to do the right thing by every human being.
Invitation: “… do the right thing by every human being.”
Retrieved from Variety at this link August 9, 2025
Read Billie Jean King’s full biography on her web page at this link
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The fact that this non-profit educational platform is called "Circles of Courageous Commons" and Billie Jean King is featured in today's reflection is a testament to the courage of Billie Jean King, on and off the tennis court. And, now at age 81, back in the classroom to finish her college degree. The harmony I also see is the life Billie Jean has lived in the "commons." Her advocacy for women's equality in sports and academics via Title IX, equal prize money in tennis and equal pay for women in the workforce, and her work for LGBTQ+ equality illustrates her commitment to the common good -- by "doing right by every human being." Thank you Pat and Jean for today's inspiring reflection.
Each generation
(keep eye on ball, do right things)
can help the next one(s).