For Billie Jean's full bio, click the image above (Photo by Jonathon Exley)
Billie Jean King
From her historic match with Bobby Riggs, to her role as a member of the Original 9 women who joined together to establish women’s professional tennis as we know it today to her founding of the Women’s Tennis Association and the establishment of the Women’s Sports Foundation and World TeamTennis…Billie Jean King has been at the forefront of women’s tennis, women’s sports and social change.
The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup honors the 39-time Grand Slam Champion having created a tennis competition in her name to be held at the World’s Most Famous Arena. The highly anticipated event has garnered support from key organizations throughout the sport including the United States Tennis Association and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
In 2009, winners of each of the 2008 Grand Slam tournaments were invited to compete in one set semifinal matches to qualify for the best of three set final for the Billie Jean King Cup. U.S. Open Champion Serena Williams, Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams and French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic accepted their invitations to participate and world number one ranked player Jelena Jankovic filled in as a wild card for the injured 2008 Australian Open Champion.
Over 12,000 fans braved a winter blizzard to watch Venus and Serena Williams defeat Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, respectively, in one-set semifinal matches, and Serena defeat her sister 6-4, 6-3 for the inaugural championship.
In collaboration with the Women’s Sports Foundation, the BNP Paribas Showdown became a truly special evening honoring women's sports and Billie Jean for her tireless efforts and dedication with a tribute by President Bill Clinton.
The Women’s Sports Foundation—the leading authority on the participation of women and girls in sports—advocates for equality, educates the public, conducts research and offers grants to promote sports and physical activity for girls and women.
Founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, the Women’s Sports Foundation builds on her legacy as a champion athlete, advocate of social justice and agent of change. We strive for gender equity and fight discrimination in sports.
Our work shapes public attitude about women’s sports and athletes, builds capacities for organizations that get girls active, provides equal opportunities for girls and women, and supports physically and emotionally healthy lifestyles.
The Women’s Sports Foundation is recognized worldwide for its leadership, vision, strength, expertise and influence. For more information, click on the Women's Sports Foundation logo on the left to be directed to the Women's Sports Foundation website.
World TeamTennis (WTT) Pro League World TeamTennis (WTT) is a professional tennis league, co-founded by Billie Jean King, featuring the biggest names in the world playing in an innovative co-ed team format. The 2011 season will be the 36thseason of World TeamTennis action. WTT Pro League action begins in July 2011 featuring three generations of tennis stars battling to advance to the WTT Championship Final where teams compete for the coveted King Trophy.
WTT is well known for introducing innovative elements to tennis including instant replay, co-ed format, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching, Supertiebreakers, multi-colored courts and player names on back of their shirts. The unique gender-balanced team concept for WTT was created in the early 70s. The format used for a WTT Pro League match features teams comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Each match consists of five sets, with one set each of men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
In addition to the Pro League, the WTT Recreational League operates leagues and events that are played using the co-ed WTT format. The WTT Recreational League operates leagues and tournaments throughout the United States that are played in the co-ed WTT format. 12,000 players participate annually in over 100 Recreational Leagues, playing matches at public parks, tennis clubs, corporations, schools, college campuses, military bases, camps, residential communities and tennis facilities. For more information, visit www.WTT.com. To find a WTT Recreational League near you go to http://www.wtt.com/page.aspx?article_id=74.
