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Billie Jean King

Awards And Accomplishments



1958 Southern California Junior champion
1961 Wimbledon doubles champion with Karen Hantze; enrolls in Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences
1966 Wimbledon singles, U.S. indoor singles, and U.S. hard-court and indoor doubles tournaments (with Rosemary Casals) champion
1967 U.S. singles champion; Wimbledon singles champion and doubles champion (with Casals), U.S. Open, and South Africa champion; French mixed doubles champion; awarded Woman Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press
1968 U.S. singles champion; Wimbledon singles and doubles champion (with Casals); Australian singles and mixed doubles champion; U.S. indoor doubles champion
1970 Wimbledon doubles champion (with Casals); French mixed doubles champion; Italian singles and doubles champion; Wightman Cup
1971 U.S. singles and mixed doubles champion; Wimbledon doubles and mixed doubles champion
1971 First female athlete to earn $100,000 in prize money
1972 Named first Sportswoman of the Year by Sports Illustrated; "Tennis Player of the Year" by Sports magazine; U.S. doubles champion; Wimbledon singles and doubles champion (with Betty Stove); French singles and doubles champion
1973 Wins Battle of the Sexes against Bobby Riggs; U.S. mixed doubles champion; Wimbledon singles, doubles (with Casals), and mixed doubles champion
1973-75, 1980-81 President, Women's Tennis Association, which she co-founds
1974 U.S. singles and doubles champion; Wimbledon mixed doubles champion; plays World Team Tennis for Philadelphia Freedoms; first woman to coach a professional team (Philadelphia Freedoms)
1975 Wimbledon singles champion; announces partial retirement
1975-78 Plays World Team Tennis for New York Sets/Apples
1976 U.S. mixed doubles champion; captain of Federation Cup team; named Woman of the Year by Time magazine
1977 Wightman Cup
1978 U.S. doubles champion
1979 Wimbledon doubles champion with Martina Navratilova, breaking the record for most career wins at Wimbledon; Wightman Cup
1980 U.S. doubles champion
1981 Plays World Team Tennis for Oakland Breakers; is sued by Marlyn Barnett, leading to publicity about her sexuality
1982 Plays World Team Tennis for Los Angeles Strings
1984 First woman commissioner (World Team Tennis) in professional sports history
1987 Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
1990 Listed as one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" by Life magazine; inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
1994 Ranked No. 5 in Sports Illustrated's "Top 40 Athletes" for significantly altering/elevating sports the last four decades
1997 Named one of the "Ten Most Powerful Women in America" by Harper's Bazaar magazine; named one of the "Twenty-five Most Influential Women in America" by World Almanac
1998 First athlete to receive the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, given by Hobart and William Smith College to a woman whose life exemplifies outstanding service to humanity
1999 Wins the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for her fight to bring equality to women's sports 2002 Receives the Radcliffe Medal, awarded annually to a person whose life and work has significantly improved society

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Famous Sports StarsTennisBillie Jean King Biography - Against All Odds, Career Of Firsts, Chronology, Champions Women's Rights, Awards And Accomplishments - CONTACT INFORMATION