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Revision as of 18:11, 4 May 2003 by Jacques Delson (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Billie Jean King (b. 1943), professional tennis player
Born Billie Jean Moffitt on November 22, 1943 in Long Beach, California, United States, she is better known under her husband's name, "King."
She is considered to be one of the greatest female tennis players and female athletes in history. She won the triple crown for singles, doubles, and mixed doubles in the US and Britain. She is also credited with being one of the first female athletes to speak out against sexual inequality in organized sports.
Billie Jean King is the only woman to win U.S. singles titles on all 4 surfaces on which it has been played (grass, clay, indoor, and hard.) She is one of only 8 players to hold a singles title in each of the Grand Slam in tennis events. Billie Jean King was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1987.
In 1990, Life magazine named her one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century".
Major tournaments won:
- Australian Open - 1 singles title
- French Open - 1 singles title
- Wimbledon championships - 6 singles titles (20 titles overall)
- US Open - 4 singles titles