93 Quotes by Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King, a tennis icon and advocate for gender equality, made an indelible impact on the sport and society as a whole. As one of the most successful and influential tennis players in history, King's exceptional athleticism, strategic prowess, and relentless determination propelled her to numerous victories, including 39 Grand Slam titles. However, King's legacy extends far beyond her accomplishments on the court. She was a trailblazer for gender equality, famously defeating Bobby Riggs in the landmark "Battle of the Sexes" match in 1973. King used her platform to fight for equal prize money and opportunities for female athletes, leading to significant advancements in the recognition and support of women's sports. Off the court, King's activism and advocacy work have made a lasting impact, promoting equality and inclusivity in all aspects of society. Her courage, resilience, and unwavering commitment to equality continue to inspire athletes and individuals around the world, reminding us of the transformative power of sports to drive social change.
Billie Jean King Quotes
I have often been asked whether I am a women or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a women.
Pressure is a privilege - it only comes to those who earn it. (Meaning)
Self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.
Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life.
Champions keep playing until they get it right.
Men can have a huge turnover of sponsorship and still survive a lot better than the women. But the women's ratings are better, at least at home in the United States than in the men's tennis.
Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It's dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great.
The main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game you are playing.
Reputation is what others think about you. What's far more important is character, because that is what you think about yourself.
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.
My whole life has been about equal rights and opportunities. For me it really goes back to the health of mind, body and soul.
Pressure is a privilege ... it's what you do with it that matters.
Don't let anyone define you. You define yourself.
In the seventies we had to make it acceptable for people to accept girls and women as athletes. We had to make it okay for them to be active. Those were much scarier times for females in sports.
A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.
When you oppress people either by gender, by race, by sexual orientation, when you do that and the doors become ajar, they will fly open and they will come and they have.
No matter how tough, no matter what kind of outside pressure, no matter how many bad breaks along the way, I must keep my sights on the final goal, to win, win, win-and with more love and passion than the world has ever witnessed in any performance.
You have got to want to be the best before you can even begin to reach for that goal, and you have got to be prepared to sacrifice a lot to get there.
It's just really important that we start celebrating our differences. Let's start tolerating first, but then we need to celebrate our differences.
No one changes the world who isn't obsessed.
Don't worry about what people say.
Ladies, here's a hint. If you're up against a girl with big boobs, bring her to the net and make her hit backhand volleys. That's the hardest shot for the well-endowed.
When a child signs up for tennis, he or she is put on a team. I put them in a circle and then I make sure they name their own team. I would have them do their skill drills as a team and their fun drills together as a team, then they have to have a match at the end of every week. They can't just have what they call a lesson today every week.
For me, losing a tennis match isn't failure, it's research.
Champions adjust and pressure is a privilege.
When they take surveys of women in business, of the Fortune 500, the successful women, 80% of them, say they were in sports as a young woman.
Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity.
Be bold. If you're going to make an error, make a doozy, and don't be afraid to hit the ball.
I always listen, I ask children, I even ask adults in tennis, "What are your children playing?" And most of the time it's not tennis. It's pathetic.
Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody.
Some people do have softer boundaries.
Women's sports is still in its infancy. The beginning of women's sports in the United States started in 1972, with the passage of Title 9 for girls to finally get athletic scholarships.
When people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say “Why?”, say “Why not?
I feel that tennis is an art form that is capable of moving the players and the audience - at least a knowledgeable audience-in almost sensual ways. When I'm performing at my absolute best, I think that some of the euphoria I feel must be transmitted to the audience.
Women get the attention when we get into the men's arena, and that's sad.
Create your legacy, and pass the baton.
It is very hard to be a female leader. While it is assumed that any man, no matter how tough, has a soft side... and female leader is assumed to be one-dimensional.
It's about learning your craft. That's a wonderful thing--especially with today's consumerism and instant gratification. You can'tbuy that. It's about making decisions, corrections, choices. I don't think it's so much about becoming a tennis player. It's about becoming a person.
Winning comes down to who can execute under pressure.
In business, everything starts with integrity. Otherwise it falls apart, though it does take time to find out who has integrity.
I will tell you King's First Law of Recognition: You never get it when you want it, and then when it comes, you get too much.
Winning is very tangible, it's very exciting, it's very pleasing, but it's momentary. If you can do things that last, that each generation can build upon, then that's when you're cooking.
Sports are a microcosm of society.
The most important words that have helped me in life, when things have gone right or when things have gone wrong are 'accept responsibility.'
In 1973, a woman could not get a credit card without her husband or father or a male signing off on it.
Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.
Don't be afraid to hit the ball.
I try to perfect my strong points and make my weaknesses adequate.
I've never cared that much for cementing my place in history. Sports is so transitory, so ephemeral. It just seems like so much nonsense comparing me to Helen Wills Moody or Suzanne Lenglen or anybody else from some other time. One lesson you learn from sports is that life goes on without you.
I didn't really care if I had a coach that much, me personally, because I was brought up to think for myself.
Men still get a lot more opportunity. It is still a big part of the old boy network... They have more companies they can get money from.
A girl didn't get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time.
In 1973, women got 59 cents on the dollar; now we are getting 74 cents on the dollar. In the area of finance and business, we are at 68 cents on the dollar.
You've got to win in sports - that's talent - but you've also got to learn how to remind everybody how you did win, and how often. That comes with experience.
Don't go into debt and don't spend a lot. It's not how much money you make, it's how much you spend.
The trouble with being number one in the world - in anything- is that it takes a certain mentality to attain that position, and that is something of a driving, perfectionist attitude, so that once you do achieve number one, you don't relax and enjoy it.
Champions take responsibility. When the ball is coming over the net, you can be sure I want the ball.
That is where the power, opportunity, and choice come from-when you have money. Money equals opportunity. There is no question.
Marriage isn't a 50-50 proposition very often. It's more like 100-0 one moment and 0-100 the next.
I would love to be a player today. I had the right personality for it.
Ask Nureyev to stop dancing, ask Sinatra to stop singing, then you can ask me to stop playing.
The old boy network is still very strong and very true. Just look at the stock exchange and how many men and women are there. It is still very much run by men.
It's important to try to get people to think about women's wellness.
Champions take responsibility.
People say, "Do you know how much a million dollars is?" I don't have a clue. How many Big Macs will it buy me?
I always respect right off the bat because we are human, but then over time you learn who the person truly is, just like they learn about you. Hope it works out really well, and you hope that builds a stronger connection over time. You can't be friends with everybody.
It's really impossible for athletes to grow up. On the one hand, you're still a child, still playing a game. But on the other hand, you're a superhuman hero that everyone dreams of being. No wonder we have such a hard time understanding who we are.
I grew up in team sports. I think I understand the psyche of America. I think when children sign up to play, it's got to be team.
I used to be told if I talked about my sexuality in any way that we wouldn't have a tennis tour.
Tennis is a game of angles. You never have time to figure the angles. It's practiced. It's so practiced that it becomes an instinct. You just know where to put the ball. You just feel it. It has been computed into your brain so many times it is there.
Bobby Riggs was one of my heroes. I admired him. That's one of the reasons I beat him - because I respected him.
I always liked co-ed events best so we have two men and two women on each team.
We have, or have had women presidents or prime ministers in Liberia, Chile, Germany, Great Britain...and yet the US of A still hasn't had a women president. It's just beyond my thinking. Look at Congress.
Being Number One isn't everything to me, but for those few hours on the court it's way ahead of whatever's in second place.
The main thing is not a matter of wanting to win; the main thing is being scared to lose.
You want people to feel like they belong to something. And not be elitist. You don't want us to be elitist.
It's very important to take tennis to the people. For young people, they get to see the best in the world.
Every generation I think gets better usually [in tennis].
Sports are a microcosm of society. It just shows how much more competition there is in the world.
When I was playing, we didn't have to compete against everybody in the world. Now it's a truly global sport, so the competition's much greater, just like it is for our children in every other area, whether it be in science or technology or whatever you talk about.
Martina and I went through a very bad five years. Everything's very good between us now, but it was a long haul.
When we reach the point where the women athletes are getting their pick of dates just as easily as the men athletes, then we've really and truly arrived. Parity at last!
As far as U.S. tennis, we need new stars coming up in the pipeline, but I don't know if we have it.
It's your birthday today, so what would you say, if we turned that frown upside down
Love, light & blessings be On this day I wish to say 'Health & Happiness to come your way' Happy Birthday
In the complete overall history of tennis, I figure I'll be worth a sentence or two.... That's why my place in the all-time rankings means so very little to me, because I know I won't be anybody's number one, and it's that same old thing: if you're not number one, then what does it really matter?
At 62 you want to keep moving; that's important.
Any therapist will tell you that when you're ready, you will come out. To be outed means you weren't ready.
When I was outed, it was like, That's done.
If your partner wants to be private, you have to respect that.
Our love one's are never gone, they have just popped into another room.
Female athletes are stereotyped by the general population--and usually as homosexuals.
Trust and respect is something you earn, not something that is given.
― Billie Jean King Quotes
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
