It’s very important to take tennis to the people. For young people, they get to see the best in the world.
BILLIE JEAN KINGWe have, or have had women presidents or prime ministers in Liberia, Chile, Germany, Great Britain…and yet the US of A still hasn’t had a women president. It’s just beyond my thinking. Look at Congress.
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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When I was playing, we didn’t have to compete against everybody in the world. Now it’s a truly global sport, so the competition’s much greater, just like it is for our children in every other area, whether it be in science or technology or whatever you talk about.
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I like putting money back into what made my life, and tennis has been great to me.
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I think younger players probably just think they are who they are-they don’t think about coming out. Unless you’re number one in the world, nobody cares, usually.
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It’s really impossible for athletes to grow up. On the one hand, you’re still a child, still playing a game. But on the other hand, you’re a superhuman hero that everyone dreams of being. No wonder we have such a hard time understanding who we are.
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I feel that tennis is an art form that is capable of moving the players and the audience – at least a knowledgeable audience-in almost sensual ways.
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You can’tbuy that. It’s about making decisions, corrections, choices. I don’t think it’s so much about becoming a tennis player. It’s about becoming a person.
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That’s why my place in the all-time rankings means so very little to me, because I know I won’t be anybody’s number one, and it’s that same old thing: if you’re not number one, then what does it really matter?
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Hope it works out really well, and you hope that builds a stronger connection over time. You can’t be friends with everybody.
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In the complete overall history of tennis, I figure I’ll be worth a sentence or two….
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Winning is very tangible, it’s very exciting, it’s very pleasing, but it’s momentary. If you can do things that last, that each generation can build upon, then that’s when you’re cooking.
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Sports are a microcosm of society.
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When people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say “Why?”, say “Why not?
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When we reach the point where the women athletes are getting their pick of dates just as easily as the men athletes, then we’ve really and truly arrived. Parity at last!
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Men can have a huge turnover of sponsorship and still survive a lot better than the women. But the women’s ratings are better, at least at home in the United States than in the men’s tennis.
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Champions keep playing until they get it right.
BILLIE JEAN KING