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A Conversation With Billie Jean King
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Published: July 12, 2008
Billie Jean King is far from slowing down.
The 64-year-old tennis great recently presided over the grand opening of her Women's Sports Center in the new Sports Museum of America in lower Manhattan. Her coed World Team Tennis league started its 33rd season this month with a new franchise in Washington featuring Wimbledon runner-up Serena Williams. And King's new book, "Pressure is a Privilege, Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes," will be released in August to commemorate the 35th anniversary of her match against Bobby Riggs.
She'll also be on TV ads for a weight-loss program, car insurance and a brokerage firm.
King found time to serve up some answers during a recent Q&A with The Associated Press:
What's attracting visitors to the museum wing, the first dedicated to women's sports?
Our International Women's Sport Center is one of the two most popular areas of the Sports Museum of America, that and NASCAR. The kids want to get in the car and they want to come to us. So that's good, we're very interactive. I think it's important to connect with both genders, but we need to highlight girls and women because we're really underserved. We'll keep rotating profiles, we have 130 women Hall of Famers, and a sports timeline from 1811 the first women's golf tournament in Scotland to today.
Besides 15-year-old Tammy Hendler of the Sacramento Capitals playing against 51-year-old Martina Navratilova of the Boston Lobsters and free rackets for kids under 16, what's new with World Team Tennis this season?
We added a team in D.C. this year. It's quite amazing how fortunate we are that the greatest players in the world help us out and play and want to be part of the community. Serena and Venus Williams have been particularly fantastic to World Team Tennis. They believe in what we're trying to do - and that's take tennis to the people. They love the team aspect and they particularly love the young people.
What prompted you to write your eighth book?
It's been 20 years since I've done a book. It's more about life and values than it is about tennis. I talk about Bobby Riggs quite a bit and what a hero he was to me. He always had great spirit and was such a good sport - after the match! If you're not in your 40s or 50s, it might be a fun read for you, as well as the ones who lived through it. The more you know about history, the more you know about yourself.
If you were the head of a sports network, what changes would you make?
I'd start having more and more women's sports on. I love sports because of the human element. I think most people can relate to that, whether they like a sport or not. It's about the people. The reason people think they know all these male athletes is because they see them all the time. If they see us enough, they will definitely like us. And make sure you take boys and girls to women's sports. The girls are taken to men's sports. Don't separate.
Was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's run in the presidential primary a watershed moment?
If you go by history, it took women 70 more years to vote. If Sen. Barack Obama's smart and wants to win, he'll have Hillary as his running mate. To me that would be the right thing to do, because they both had so many votes. I know if I were in his position, it's a no-brainer. Or if I were in her position and she became the nominee, he's the right one. They both were so neck-and-neck, they both bring a different demographic, so I think that's important. But, hey, whatever happens, happens.
What do you think of women playing an exhibition match like Roger Federer-Pete Sampras at Madison Square Garden? Perhaps Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf could pack the house?
I'd hope so. Talk about two of the all-time greats, how could they not? That would be a good one. I'd just love to see them walk on the court together. When Federer played Sampras it was fabulous, it was electric. It was sold out and everybody wanted to be seen, which I thought was pretty funny.
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