Billie Jean King Gallery
Published March 18, 2010 12:00
King was 22 when she beat Maria Bueno for her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1966.
In 1967 King won the triple crown at Wimbledon, beating Britain's Ann Haydon Jones in the singles final.
Eleven of King's 12 Grand Slam singles titles were won on grass, the exception being the French Open in 1972.
Amid great fanfare King was carried Cleopatra-style into the Houston Astrodome for her 1973 Battle of the Sexes match against Bobby Riggs.
King beat Riggs 64 63 63. Despite their differences, they developed a strong bond.
In 1975 King beat Evonne Goolagong Cawley for a sixth Wimbledon crown - her last Grand Slam triumph.
In 1976 King posed in an umpire's chair at a Colgate Series event in the US.
In 1977 King was beaten by Chris Evert in the Wimbledon quarters - her first loss to the younger American at a major.
King's commitment to net-rushing kept opponents off balance for a quarter of a century.
In 1982, 38-year-old King became Wimbledon's oldest semifinalist since Dorothea Lambert Chambers in 1920.
In 1999 King led the Williams sisters, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport into Fed Cup battle against Russia.
King and music superstar Elton John are ardent supporters of each other's charitable endeavors.
In 2006 King and her partner, former Tour player Ilana Kloss, were honored by the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Evert, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors celebrated when the home of the US Open was renamed for King in 2006.
World TeamTennis continues to draw top pros past and present, like Rennae Stubbs and Pete Sampras.
King was center stage when the Women's Sports Foundation launched awards dubbed the 'Billies' in 2006.
In 2008 King, seen with then-Tour CEO Larry Scott, was made a Global Ambassador for Gender Equality by UNESCO.
King gave a clinic when the Sony Ericsson Championships were held in Doha in 2008.
In 2009 Venus and Serena Williams fought out the first final of the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup.
In 2009 King received the Presidential Medal of Freedom - America's highest civilian honor - from Barack Obama.
