WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.919 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are really 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:06.820 strapping in for an exhaustive, detailed look 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:10.039 at a figure whose influence, well, it fundamentally 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:12.900 altered not just tennis, but really the entire 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:14.900 landscape of professional athletics and social 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:16.879 equity. Yeah, we're talking about Billie Jean 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:20.140 King, the champion, the activist, the icon. And 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:21.539 the amount of source material we've worked through 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:25.149 for you today is frankly... It really is. It 00:00:25.149 --> 00:00:27.210 covers everything from her amateur start back 00:00:27.210 --> 00:00:29.510 in 59, right through her retirement in 1990, 00:00:29.829 --> 00:00:33.030 and then all those monumental decades of activism 00:00:33.030 --> 00:00:35.729 afterwards. Our mission here is to get beyond 00:00:35.729 --> 00:00:38.289 just the stats, you know? Exactly. We want to 00:00:38.289 --> 00:00:40.409 show you, the listener, the political fights, 00:00:40.530 --> 00:00:43.229 the cultural battles she won off the court. Because 00:00:43.229 --> 00:00:45.609 that's what truly defined her legacy. Because 00:00:45.609 --> 00:00:47.229 the numbers, I mean, they're incredible. Don't 00:00:47.229 --> 00:00:49.270 get me wrong. Oh, absolutely. 39 total Grand 00:00:49.270 --> 00:00:52.770 Slam titles. You've got 12 singles, 16 women's 00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:55.770 doubles, 11 mixed doubles. It's staggering. But 00:00:55.770 --> 00:00:57.350 she wasn't just a dominant player. She was an 00:00:57.350 --> 00:00:59.649 architect, really. Founder of the Women's Tennis 00:00:59.649 --> 00:01:01.729 Association, the WTA, and the Women's Sports 00:01:01.729 --> 00:01:04.500 Foundation. And I think what's absolutely crucial 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:07.200 for you to grasp in this deep dive is the sheer 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:10.060 level of resistance, the institutional pushback 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:12.379 she faced. Yeah. She wasn't just winning titles. 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:15.280 She was building the structures for women to 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:17.980 even be paid professionals while fighting the 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:20.780 very system she was dominating. So we're going 00:01:20.780 --> 00:01:23.680 to explore how she dragged tennis, kicking and 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:27.560 screaming sometimes from this exclusive amateur. 00:01:28.349 --> 00:01:32.030 almost white glove spectacle into a genuine professional 00:01:32.030 --> 00:01:35.310 sport. And that put her directly at odds with 00:01:35.310 --> 00:01:37.689 the establishment. OK, so let's unpack this. 00:01:37.730 --> 00:01:39.209 Let's start at the beginning. Long Beach, California. 00:01:39.569 --> 00:01:42.109 Billie Jean Moffitt, born into this hardworking 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:44.950 Methodist family and athletics. It was definitely 00:01:44.950 --> 00:01:47.400 in the genes. Oh, absolutely. Her mom was a great 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:49.420 swimmer. Her dad played basketball and baseball. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.040 Yeah. And then her younger brother, Randy Moffitt. 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:53.859 Yeah, he became a major league baseball pitcher, 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:56.879 played for the Giants, among others. Right. So 00:01:56.879 --> 00:01:58.859 you see this natural sort of multi -sport ability 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:01.200 there. And the sources are clear. She wasn't 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.640 initially aiming for tennis. No. At age 10, she 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:07.459 was playing shortstop on a champion softball 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:10.020 team, playing with girls four or five years older 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:12.539 than her. Exactly. That competitive fire was 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:14.659 there early, but it was in a team sport, you 00:02:14.659 --> 00:02:16.900 know, where aggression was maybe more accepted. 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:19.300 And here's what feels like the first big aha 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:23.039 moment. A detail that just perfectly sums up 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.860 the restrictive world she grew up in. She switches 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:30.099 from softball to tennis at 11. Why? Because her 00:02:30.099 --> 00:02:32.139 parents suggested it. They thought she should 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:35.699 find, well, a more ladylike sport. Think about 00:02:35.699 --> 00:02:38.319 that. The catalyst for arguably the greatest 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.379 revolutionary in women's sports history was a 00:02:41.379 --> 00:02:45.199 nudge towards traditional femininity. Just wow. 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:47.719 And getting into tennis wasn't easy or cheap 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:49.960 for her family. She had to save her own money. 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:52.360 From odd jobs, right. She scraped together $8 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:55.219 for her first racket. Which, adjusted for inflation, 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:57.800 you're talking about maybe $92 today. So this 00:02:57.800 --> 00:02:59.919 wasn't some privileged kid handed the best gear. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:02.340 No. She was self -made from the start. She understood 00:03:02.340 --> 00:03:04.800 the value of a dollar, the value of those free 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.280 lessons the city provided. And that background, 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:10.219 that sense of fairness maybe, it immediately 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:14.479 clashed with the sport's inherent elitism. She 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.159 hit that wall pretty early on. Yeah, that story 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:19.520 about the youth tournament. She wasn't allowed 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:21.740 in the group photo. Correct, because she was 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:24.240 wearing tennis shorts. Shorts her mother had 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:26.699 sewn for her, not the traditional white tennis 00:03:26.699 --> 00:03:29.219 dress. Unbelievable. Well, think about what that 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:32.469 teaches a young athlete. You're excluded. Because 00:03:32.469 --> 00:03:34.289 of your clothes, practical clothes made by your 00:03:34.289 --> 00:03:36.389 mom. It's a lesson that the rules aren't just 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:39.949 about the game. They're about exclusion, conformity, 00:03:40.030 --> 00:03:43.889 social power. And that seemed to just fuel this 00:03:43.889 --> 00:03:46.330 incredible ambition in her. It really did. There's 00:03:46.330 --> 00:03:48.430 that famous story. She's maybe 13 or 14 talking 00:03:48.430 --> 00:03:50.330 to her minister who happened to be Bob Richards, 00:03:50.490 --> 00:03:52.449 the Olympic pole vaulter. Right. And she tells 00:03:52.449 --> 00:03:54.169 him, Reverend, I'm going to be the best tennis 00:03:54.169 --> 00:03:56.150 player in the world. Just lays it out there. 00:03:56.229 --> 00:03:58.659 Wow. Before she could even drive a car. And she 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:01.300 started backing it up fast. Made her Grand Slam 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:04.319 debut at the U .S. Championships in 1959. She 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:06.599 was only 15. Her international career really 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:08.639 kicked off a couple of years later, thanks to 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:11.400 people in her community, right? They raised money 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:14.979 to send her to Wimbledon. Yeah, $2 ,000. Which 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:17.500 was a huge amount back then. They saw the potential. 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:20.720 And she certainly didn't waste that chance. 1961, 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:24.240 Wimbledon. She wins the women's doubles title 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:26.720 with Karen Hance. They were the youngest team 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:28.759 ever to win it at that point. Billie Jean was 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:32.000 just 17. An incredible achievement. But the moment 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.439 that really put her on the map in singles, that 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:37.639 had to be Wimbledon 1962. Oh, definitely. Second 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:40.519 round, she faces world number one, the top seed, 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:43.939 Margaret Court, and pulls off this massive upset. 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:46.939 And the sources really stress how historic this 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:49.540 was. It was the first time ever at Wimbledon 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:52.339 that the women's top seed lost her opening match. 00:04:52.579 --> 00:04:55.399 And it wasn't just luck. It was strategy. She 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:57.720 saw court was a bit vulnerable on her forehand, 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:00.740 and she just exploited it ruthlessly. You see 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:02.959 that early tactical mind at work, always looking 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:04.819 for the weakness, whether in an opponent's game 00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:08.240 or later in an unfair system. She knew she needed 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:10.540 to commit fully to reach that number one spot 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:15.670 herself. So 1964, she leaves college. Cal State, 00:05:15.810 --> 00:05:17.829 L .A., right? Yeah, takes up an offer from a 00:05:17.829 --> 00:05:19.970 businessman, Robert Mitchell, to fund her training 00:05:19.970 --> 00:05:22.250 full -time down in Australia with Mervyn Rose, 00:05:22.430 --> 00:05:25.569 a top coach. That's a big gamble. Giving up education 00:05:25.569 --> 00:05:28.470 for pure athletic pursuit. Classic professional 00:05:28.470 --> 00:05:31.050 mindset, even before the sport was truly professional 00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:33.629 for women. And even a tough loss became fuel 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:37.069 for her. That 1965 U .S. Championships final, 00:05:37.329 --> 00:05:40.649 again against court. She was so close. Agonizingly 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:43.769 close. Leading 5 -3 in both sets, had two set 00:05:43.769 --> 00:05:46.040 points in the second. And still lost. But that 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:48.500 didn't break her. No, it forged her. She processed 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:51.560 it, realized, OK, I am good enough. And then 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:54.160 came that famous, almost immediate declaration. 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:56.360 I'm going to win Wimbledon next year. Exactly. 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:58.439 Claiming her destiny. That habit of demanding 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:00.680 her place, well, it translated directly into 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:02.819 demanding fairness for everyone else later on. 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.000 And she called her shot. One year later, 1966. 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:08.600 Wimbledon. Prediction comes true. After, what, 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:11.439 13 tries at a Grand Slam singles title, she finally 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:13.860 breaks through, beats Court in the semis, Maria 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:16.379 Brano in the final. And the sources say a big 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:18.740 part of that breakthrough was a new shot she'd 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:21.220 developed. Yeah, a really potent forehand down 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:24.040 the line. That, plus a simple but smart game 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:26.459 plan against Court, basically, just chipped the 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:28.500 ball back at her feet. It shows her ability to 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:31.420 analyze, adapt, and execute under pressure. And 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:34.720 then the floodgates just opened. 1967, she pulls 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:37.459 off the triple singles, women's doubles, mixed 00:06:37.459 --> 00:06:40.079 doubles at both Wimbledon and the U .S. Championships. 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:42.800 Which hadn't been done since Alice Marble way 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:45.639 back in 1939, just total dominance. She completed 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:48.519 the career Grand Slam in singles in 72, winning 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:50.759 the French Open without losing a set. I mean, 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:52.819 her record in that era is just mind -blowing. 00:06:53.079 --> 00:06:56.839 12 Grand Slam singles titles total. She was ranked 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.259 world number one at year end in six of those 00:06:59.259 --> 00:07:02.220 10 years. It was truly a golden age for her and 00:07:02.220 --> 00:07:04.079 for women's tennis. Okay, but here's something 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:05.939 absolutely crucial, and I think it often gets 00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:08.800 overlooked, this dominance. It wasn't achieved 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:11.639 by someone in perfect physical condition. Not 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:13.620 at all. She was constantly battling her body, 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:17.120 major knee issues. She had cartilage repair surgery 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:20.199 on her left knee in September 68. Right. And 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:23.420 then her right knee needed surgery in 1970. And 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:26.139 the prognosis back in 68 was grim, wasn't it? 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:28.139 Yeah. Doctors basically told her she might only 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:30.579 have two more years of competitive tennis left. 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:33.620 Her knees were that bad. So the sheer grit, the 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:36.610 mental toughness, to ignore that. play on for 00:07:36.610 --> 00:07:39.470 over a decade more at that level, A &D become 00:07:39.470 --> 00:07:41.949 a leading activist at the same time. It's astounding. 00:07:41.949 --> 00:07:44.250 It really shows the fight wasn't just physical. 00:07:44.370 --> 00:07:47.350 It was a psychological war against limitations, 00:07:47.449 --> 00:07:50.250 against expectations. And this physical struggle 00:07:50.250 --> 00:07:52.529 was happening right alongside her fight for professional 00:07:52.529 --> 00:07:55.470 recognition and pay. Before the open era officially 00:07:55.470 --> 00:07:58.689 started in 68, How much was she actually earning? 00:07:58.889 --> 00:08:01.689 Barely anything, like $100 a week as a playground 00:08:01.689 --> 00:08:03.449 instructor and student when she wasn't playing 00:08:03.449 --> 00:08:06.310 majors. Which brings us to this idea of shamaturism. 00:08:06.310 --> 00:08:07.430 That's what she was fighting against, right? 00:08:07.470 --> 00:08:11.029 Yeah, exactly. In 67, she started calling out 00:08:11.029 --> 00:08:14.050 the USLTA, the U .S. Lawn Tennis Association. 00:08:14.689 --> 00:08:17.970 The sport was supposedly amateur, but the top 00:08:17.970 --> 00:08:20.370 players, mostly the men, were getting paid under 00:08:20.370 --> 00:08:23.160 the table. A parent's money. illegal payments. 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:25.300 So it kept the whole thing elitist and economically 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:27.459 restrictive for women and lower ranked players. 00:08:27.579 --> 00:08:30.199 Completely. King famously said the status of 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:32.159 a pro tennis player in America back then was 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:34.799 a cross between a panhandler and a visiting in 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.139 -law. Just no respect, no financial security. 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:39.740 And the breaking point, the moment that really 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:43.440 ignited the revolution came in 1970. The Pacific 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.360 Southwest Open. Ah, yes. The prize money disparity 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:48.799 there was just... blatant. What was it exactly? 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:52.779 The men's top prize was $12 ,500. The women's 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:56.580 top prize, $1 ,500. Wow. Less than 15%. And it 00:08:56.580 --> 00:08:58.240 gets worse. The women only got their expenses 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:00.299 covered if they reached the quarterfinals. So 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:01.879 if you lost early, you were literally paying 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:04.460 to play. That wasn't the case for the men. Okay. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.279 So that inequality was the final straw. That's 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.960 when she decided enough is enough. Pretty much. 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:12.340 She, along with eight other women, they're now 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:15.240 legendary as the original nine. Gladys Heldman 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:17.700 was key in organizing this too, right? The publisher. 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:20.019 Absolutely, working with her. They basically 00:09:20.019 --> 00:09:22.220 said, we're doing our own thing. They risked 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:24.379 immediate suspension expulsion from the USLTA. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:26.960 They organized their own women -only tournament, 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:29.620 the Houston Virginia Slims Invitational, sponsored 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:32.279 by the cigarette brand. A massive gamble. Huge. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:36.100 The story goes, they signed these symbolic $1 00:09:36.100 --> 00:09:39.100 contracts, maybe on a napkin, to form this new 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:41.899 tour. They knew they could be banned from Wimbledon, 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:44.539 the US Open, everything. Their careers were on 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:47.419 the line. But that act of defiance, that entrepreneurial 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:50.720 spirit, it launched the first dedicated professional 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:53.460 women's tour. And it paid off almost immediately 00:09:53.460 --> 00:09:57.340 in terms of legitimacy. By 1971, King becomes 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:00.120 the first female tennis player ever to earn over 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.500 $100 ,000 in prize money in a single year. That's 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:06.059 a huge milestone. Got her a congratulatory phone 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:08.519 call from President Nixon, even. Yeah, that recognition 00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:11.179 was significant. But the fight for actual equality 00:10:11.179 --> 00:10:14.080 wasn't won yet. Right. Because even after winning 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.139 the U .S. Open in 1972, she got paid $15 ,000 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:19.899 less than the men's champion, Eileen Nastas. 00:10:20.059 --> 00:10:23.370 So she's your line in the sand. She did. publicly 00:10:23.370 --> 00:10:26.330 threatened to boycott the 73 U .S. Open unless 00:10:26.330 --> 00:10:29.029 they offered equal prize money. And given her 00:10:29.029 --> 00:10:31.429 status and the visibility of the tour she'd helped 00:10:31.429 --> 00:10:34.090 create, the USTA couldn't afford for her not 00:10:34.090 --> 00:10:37.009 to play. Exactly. They blinked. In 1973, the 00:10:37.009 --> 00:10:39.529 U .S. Open became the very first major tournament 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:42.090 to offer equal prize money for men and women, 00:10:42.210 --> 00:10:45.549 a landmark victory. And King always thinking 00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:48.250 strategically, immediately moved to lock in those 00:10:48.250 --> 00:10:52.549 games. Yes. That same year, 1973, she formalizes 00:10:52.549 --> 00:10:54.629 the power they built by founding the Women's 00:10:54.629 --> 00:10:57.629 Tennis Association, the WTA, and serving as its 00:10:57.629 --> 00:10:59.690 first president. She knew they needed structure, 00:10:59.889 --> 00:11:02.169 governance, a unified voice. It wasn't just about 00:11:02.169 --> 00:11:04.529 protests anymore. It was about building a lasting 00:11:04.529 --> 00:11:06.950 professional institution. For everyone who came 00:11:06.950 --> 00:11:09.100 after her. Not just about winning the next match, 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:11.799 but securing the future. Okay, so all this incredible 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:14.480 work, building the tour, fighting for equal pay, 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:17.840 it all kind of converged in this one massive 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:21.100 high -stakes event in 1973 that became more than 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:23.240 just a tennis match. Oh, absolutely. The Battle 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:25.320 of the Sexes against Bobby Riggs. One of the 00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:28.059 defining cultural moments of the 70s, maybe the 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:31.120 century. We need the context here. Riggs, former 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.519 world number one back in the 40s, now 55 years 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:37.480 old. And a self -proclaimed male chauvinist pig 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:40.840 and hustler. His whole shtick was that the women's 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:43.419 game was so inferior he could still beat any 00:11:43.419 --> 00:11:46.039 top female player. And the alarming thing was 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:48.480 he had kind of already proved part of his point. 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:50.580 He played Margaret Court a few months earlier. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:53.960 Yes, the infamous Mother's Day Massacre. Riggs 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:57.139 destroyed court 6 -2, 6 -1. It was a disaster 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:59.720 for the perception of women's tennis. And that 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:02.559 loss put enormous pressure on King, didn't it? 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:05.240 She'd turned Riggs down before. Yeah, she initially 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:08.179 saw him as just a clown, a sideshow. But after 00:12:08.179 --> 00:12:10.740 court loss so badly, King felt she had to play 00:12:10.740 --> 00:12:12.840 him. The credibility of the tour she'd built 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:15.039 was suddenly on the line, so she accepted the 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:18.210 $100 ,000 winner -takes -all challenge. Now, 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:20.590 some people argued then, and maybe still do, 00:12:20.789 --> 00:12:23.529 that even playing him validated his premise that 00:12:23.529 --> 00:12:25.269 women still had to prove themselves against a 00:12:25.269 --> 00:12:26.929 man. That's a fair critique, and the sources 00:12:26.929 --> 00:12:28.929 show King wrestled with that. But her calculation, 00:12:28.929 --> 00:12:31.309 I think, was that the potential platform outweighed 00:12:31.309 --> 00:12:33.029 the risk. It's political theater, basically. 00:12:33.250 --> 00:12:36.409 Exactly. And the scale reflected that. The Houston 00:12:36.409 --> 00:12:41.070 Astrodome. Over 30 ,000 people live. 30 ,492 00:12:41.070 --> 00:12:43.190 was the official number. A tennis attendance 00:12:43.190 --> 00:12:46.289 record for years. But the TV audience was the 00:12:46.289 --> 00:12:49.210 real story. Estimated 50 million in the U .S., 00:12:49.210 --> 00:12:52.570 maybe 90 million worldwide across 37 countries. 00:12:52.649 --> 00:12:56.049 It was a global spectacle. King's entrance carried 00:12:56.049 --> 00:12:59.090 in like Cleopatra on that throne. Pure theater. 00:12:59.269 --> 00:13:01.549 And the weight she felt must have been immense, 00:13:01.809 --> 00:13:03.830 she famously said. I thought it would set us 00:13:03.830 --> 00:13:06.009 back 50 years if I didn't win that match. It 00:13:06.009 --> 00:13:08.590 would ruin the women's tour and affect all women's 00:13:08.590 --> 00:13:10.389 self -esteem. That's not just playing tennis. 00:13:10.450 --> 00:13:12.129 That's carrying the weight of a movement. And 00:13:12.129 --> 00:13:13.929 she delivered. Under that crushing pressure, 00:13:14.070 --> 00:13:16.750 she just put on a tactical masterclass, beat 00:13:16.750 --> 00:13:20.009 Riggs soundly in straight sets, 6 -4, 6 -3, 6 00:13:20.009 --> 00:13:21.990 -3. Made him run all over the court. Didn't play 00:13:21.990 --> 00:13:24.350 his game. Exactly. Exposed his age and lack of 00:13:24.350 --> 00:13:27.090 mobility. Proved her superiority not just physically, 00:13:27.190 --> 00:13:29.269 but strategically. But she always maintained 00:13:29.269 --> 00:13:31.330 the win wasn't just about beating an older guy. 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:34.289 No, for her, the real victory was the exposure. 00:13:34.860 --> 00:13:37.320 She said the thrill was exposing a lot of new 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:39.860 people to tennis. It legitimized the women's 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:42.379 game for this huge global audience. And even 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:44.080 the fashion was part of the statement, right? 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:46.639 That dress. Oh yeah, the iconic Ted Tinling dress. 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.700 Sequin, stylish. It's in the Smithsonian now, 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:52.799 as it should be. It showed women could be fierce 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:55.500 competitors and glamorous and professional athletes. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.139 And right after this huge cultural moment, she 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:01.379 didn't slow down. She went straight back to building 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:05.129 things. Typical King. 1974, she co -founds Women's 00:14:05.129 --> 00:14:07.909 Sports Magazine, recognizing the need for dedicated 00:14:07.909 --> 00:14:10.870 media coverage for female athletes and starts 00:14:10.870 --> 00:14:13.190 the Women's Sports Foundation. Providing resources, 00:14:13.649 --> 00:14:16.470 advocating for opportunity. Exactly. And around 00:14:16.470 --> 00:14:18.350 the same time, her husband then, Larry King, 00:14:18.590 --> 00:14:22.090 co -founded World Team Tennis, the WTT, in 73. 00:14:22.330 --> 00:14:24.309 And that was built explicitly on her philosophy, 00:14:24.470 --> 00:14:26.610 wasn't it? Absolutely. Mixed gender teams, equal 00:14:26.610 --> 00:14:29.250 prize money right from the start. A really progressive 00:14:29.250 --> 00:14:32.529 model that still exists today. The single victory, 00:14:32.789 --> 00:14:35.210 even one as big as the Battle of the Sexes, needed 00:14:35.210 --> 00:14:37.629 infrastructure behind it to have lasting impact. 00:14:37.929 --> 00:14:40.149 Okay, let's track the latter part of her playing 00:14:40.149 --> 00:14:44.710 career. 1975, she wins her sixth and final Wimbledon 00:14:44.710 --> 00:14:47.289 singles title. And it was a dominant performance. 00:14:47.730 --> 00:14:50.649 Oh, completely. She beat Yvonne Goulagon -Caulay 00:14:50.649 --> 00:14:53.570 6 -0, 6 -1 in the final. She called it a near 00:14:53.570 --> 00:14:56.009 -perfect match. And in that moment, she actually 00:14:56.009 --> 00:14:57.809 declared she was done, right? Yeah, she said, 00:14:57.889 --> 00:15:00.820 I'm never coming back. But she regretted that 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:03.399 pretty quickly. Later said she felt she wasted 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:06.759 1976 by being on the sidelines. So despite the 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:09.039 knee surgery, she'd had several. By then she 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:11.399 comes back. Had a third knee surgery in late 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:15.100 76, this time on the right knee. Doctors are 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:17.240 advising retirement again. Strongly advising 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:19.519 it. But she just wouldn't quit. There's that 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.519 great quote capturing her spirit about the pain 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:23.480 in the mornings. I will suffer, but I will be 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:26.019 back. And she did come back, competing in singles 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:29.080 into 1977 and beyond, still reaching Wimbledon 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.960 semis in the early 80s. Her longevity, considering 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.360 the state of her knees, is just incredible. In 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:36.740 1983, she wins the Edge Baston Cup tournament. 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:39.639 She's 39 years old, nearly 40. Making her the 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.460 oldest WTA player ever to win a singles title. 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.000 That record still stands, I think. I believe 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.460 so, yes. And her doubles career continued even 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:50.389 longer. Her 39th and final Grand Slam title came 00:15:50.389 --> 00:15:53.429 in 1980, mixed doubles at the U .S. Open, partnering 00:15:53.429 --> 00:15:56.009 with Martina Navratilova. But during these later 00:15:56.009 --> 00:15:58.149 playing years, she was dealing with this immense 00:15:58.149 --> 00:16:00.429 personal struggle, something that eventually 00:16:00.429 --> 00:16:03.289 became very public and had huge professional 00:16:03.289 --> 00:16:06.450 consequences. Yeah. She married Larry King back 00:16:06.450 --> 00:16:09.889 in 1965. She actually credits him with introducing 00:16:09.889 --> 00:16:13.669 her to feminist ideas. But by 1968, she'd realized 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:15.929 she was attracted to women. So she's carrying 00:16:15.929 --> 00:16:18.929 this secret, this internal conflict during her 00:16:18.929 --> 00:16:21.889 peak years of playing in activism. Exactly. And 00:16:21.889 --> 00:16:24.590 the pressure just exploded in 1981 with that 00:16:24.590 --> 00:16:27.649 palimony lawsuit. Her former secretary, Marilyn 00:16:27.649 --> 00:16:30.590 Barnett, sued her and Larry. Claiming half their 00:16:30.590 --> 00:16:33.250 income, the Malibu house. It forced King into 00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:35.429 the spotlight in a way she never wanted. It was 00:16:35.429 --> 00:16:38.620 incredibly difficult. This was 19... a very different 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:41.279 time, she became the first prominent female professional 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:44.019 athlete to publicly acknowledge a same -sex relationship. 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:46.419 Though initially fearing the backlash against 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:49.039 the tour she'd built, she downplayed it, calling 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.700 it a fling. Which speaks volumes about the pressure 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:54.279 she felt, the burden of being the face of women's 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:56.799 tennis. And this is where we hit that second 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:00.659 really profound aha moment, connecting the personal 00:17:00.659 --> 00:17:03.620 and professional cost. The fallout from that 00:17:03.620 --> 00:17:06.910 lawsuit was devastating. Financially. Absolutely 00:17:06.910 --> 00:17:09.730 catastrophic. She lost an estimated $2 million 00:17:09.730 --> 00:17:13.210 in endorsements almost overnight. Sponsors just 00:17:13.210 --> 00:17:15.529 dropped her. Think about the crushing irony there. 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:18.279 The woman who fought tooth and nail for equal 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:21.339 pay for women to be financially viable professionals 00:17:21.339 --> 00:17:24.059 is forced to keep playing tennis longer than 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:27.019 she probably wanted or needed to just to pay 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:28.980 the massive legal bills from this invasion of 00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:31.380 her privacy. It's heartbreaking. And the psychological 00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:34.440 toll must have been immense, too. Oh, huge. She 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.660 later spoke openly about developing an eating 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:39.339 disorder during this period, trying to numb the 00:17:39.339 --> 00:17:42.339 feelings, the pressure of hiding her true self 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:46.230 for so long. That honesty is so powerful. She 00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:48.130 eventually found peace with it, told her parents 00:17:48.130 --> 00:17:50.750 when she was 51, and much later found personal 00:17:50.750 --> 00:17:53.410 happiness marrying her longtime partner, Ilana 00:17:53.410 --> 00:17:56.109 Kloss, in 2018. A journey that took decades, 00:17:56.230 --> 00:17:58.589 really. Her formal playing career wrapped up 00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:01.430 around 1990, but her involvement in sports, her 00:18:01.430 --> 00:18:05.059 leadership... Never stopped. No way. She captained 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:07.380 the U .S. Fed Cup team, coached the Olympic tennis 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:10.200 team, led the U .S. to the Fed Cup title in 96. 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:13.400 And she's still a major force in sports ownership 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:16.640 today. Minority owner in the L .A. Dodgers, the 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:20.579 L .A. Sparks in the WNBA, Angel City FC in women's 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:23.599 soccer. She's still building. And the honors, 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:25.799 the recognition she's received really cement 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:29.019 her status as this towering cultural figure far 00:18:29.019 --> 00:18:31.640 beyond just tennis. Like being named Sports Illustrated 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:34.660 Sports Person of the Year back in 72. jointly 00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:37.279 with John Wooden. And crucially, the first female 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:40.099 athlete ever to get that honor, solely or jointly, 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:42.640 another barrier broken. And then the renaming 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:45.660 of the National Tennis Center in 2006. The USTA 00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:48.059 Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:50.559 the US Open is played. That's monumental recognition 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:53.000 of her legacy. Followed by the Presidential Medal 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:56.200 of Freedom in 2009. Yeah, for her advocacy for 00:18:56.200 --> 00:18:58.680 women and the LGBT community. Again, the first 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:01.140 female athlete to receive it. But maybe the ultimate 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:04.170 acknowledgement of her impact on the of the sport 00:19:04.170 --> 00:19:07.730 came just recently in 2020. The renaming of the 00:19:07.730 --> 00:19:10.390 Fed Cup the biggest international team competition 00:19:10.390 --> 00:19:12.690 in women's tennis to the Billie Jean King Cup. 00:19:13.069 --> 00:19:15.750 It's incredibly rare for a major global competition 00:19:15.750 --> 00:19:19.490 to be named after a living person. It just underscores 00:19:19.490 --> 00:19:22.390 that she's not just an icon. She's the foundation 00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:24.490 and then the Congressional Gold Medal in 2024. 00:19:24.930 --> 00:19:27.809 Absolutely. Her peers, her rivals, they knew 00:19:27.809 --> 00:19:30.250 her greatness. Margaret Court called her the 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:32.670 greatest competitor ever known. High praise from 00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:34.589 her biggest rival. And Chris Everett, who came 00:19:34.589 --> 00:19:37.490 along a bit later, called her a mentor with vision 00:19:37.490 --> 00:19:39.829 people can only dream about. And that reputation 00:19:39.829 --> 00:19:43.269 is the ultimate clutch player. There's that great 00:19:43.269 --> 00:19:46.309 anecdote from 79. Yeah, asking top players like 00:19:46.309 --> 00:19:49.529 Navratilova, Rosie Xales, if you're down 1 -5, 00:19:49.890 --> 00:19:53.029 15 -40 in the deciding set of a major, who do 00:19:53.029 --> 00:19:54.890 you want playing that point for you? And they 00:19:54.890 --> 00:19:57.390 all said... Billie Jean King. They trusted her 00:19:57.390 --> 00:20:00.250 mental toughness, her ability to find a way to 00:20:00.250 --> 00:20:02.369 innovate under the absolute highest pressure, 00:20:02.690 --> 00:20:05.529 a quality she brought to the court, and to the 00:20:05.529 --> 00:20:08.730 fight for equality. Hashtag tag tag tag outro. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:12.140 So when you look back at the whole arc of her 00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:15.079 life, you know, from that kid saving $8 for a 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.640 racket to having this huge global tournament 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:20.640 named after her, the picture is just so clear. 00:20:20.819 --> 00:20:22.359 Yeah, she was this revolutionary competitor, 00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:24.880 absolutely brilliant under pressure, but also 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:27.099 constantly innovating off the court. Building 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:30.440 the WTA, forcing the issue on equal pay, dominating 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:33.640 one of tennis's toughest eras, all while navigating 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:36.039 these intense personal struggles that honestly 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:38.910 would have crushed most people. She just refused 00:20:38.910 --> 00:20:41.009 to accept the status quo. Whether it was the 00:20:41.009 --> 00:20:43.329 old boy network in tennis, the pay gap, or the 00:20:43.329 --> 00:20:46.170 societal pressure to conform, she took that fierce 00:20:46.170 --> 00:20:48.309 drive she had as a kid. And channeled it into 00:20:48.309 --> 00:20:50.509 building something lasting, something equitable 00:20:50.509 --> 00:20:52.750 for every single woman athlete who followed her. 00:20:52.849 --> 00:20:54.730 Which brings us nicely to our final thought for 00:20:54.730 --> 00:20:56.690 you, the listener. Something drawn right from 00:20:56.690 --> 00:20:58.809 her own philosophy about performing when it counts. 00:20:59.049 --> 00:21:01.329 Yeah. King had this interesting take on what 00:21:01.329 --> 00:21:04.450 makes a champion. She said, The cliche is to 00:21:04.450 --> 00:21:06.849 say that champions play the big points better. 00:21:07.230 --> 00:21:10.029 Yes, but that's only the half of it. The champions 00:21:10.029 --> 00:21:13.910 play their weaknesses better. That's counterintuitive. 00:21:13.930 --> 00:21:16.289 It's not just about leaning on your strengths. 00:21:16.450 --> 00:21:19.369 It's about shoring up your vulnerabilities, understanding 00:21:19.369 --> 00:21:22.180 how you might fail, and preventing it. Exactly. 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:24.779 And she also offered this insight into her own 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:27.599 motivation later in life, which kind of reframes 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:29.839 the whole idea of competition. She said, I'm 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:31.940 a perfectionist much more than I'm a super competitor. 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:34.240 And there's a big difference there. A perfectionist 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:36.220 more than a competitor. So think about that in 00:21:36.220 --> 00:21:38.599 your own life, whatever you're pursuing. Is your 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:41.019 main drive just to beat the other person? Or 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:44.039 is it this internal, relentless quest for perfection, 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:47.720 for executing flawlessly that really pushes you? 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:49.599 And could it be that really acknowledging and 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:52.339 addressing your weaknesses like... suggests is 00:21:52.339 --> 00:21:55.759 actually the key to achieving that kind of perfection 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:58.200 under pressure. Something to definitely mull 00:21:58.200 --> 00:22:02.119 over. A deep dive indeed. It certainly is. Thanks 00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:04.319 for joining us today. We'll be back next time 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.619 with another deep dive into fascinating source 00:22:06.619 --> 00:22:06.980 material.