Reputation is what others think about you. What’s far more important is character, because that is what you think about yourself.
BILLIE JEAN KINGWhen 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!
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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It’s very important to take tennis to the people. For young people, they get to see the best in the world.
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The trouble with being number one in the world – in anything- is that it takes a certain mentality to attain that position, and that is something of a driving, perfectionist attitude, so that once you do achieve number one, you don’t relax and enjoy it.
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If you have one gay experience, does that mean you’re gay? If you have one heterosexual experience, does that mean you’re straight? Life doesn’t work quite so cut and dried.
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It’s about learning your craft. That’s a wonderful thing–especially with today’s consumerism and instant gratification.
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In business, everything starts with integrity. Otherwise it falls apart, though it does take time to find out who has integrity.
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Every generation I think gets better usually [in tennis].
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Sports are a microcosm of society. It just shows how much more competition there is in the world.
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Don’t worry about what people say.
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Men still get a lot more opportunity. It is still a big part of the old boy network… They have more companies they can get money from.
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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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Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It’s dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great.
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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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Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.
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Don’t be afraid to hit the ball.
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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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Some people do have softer boundaries.
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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 think if you’re put on a team as a child, like you are in soccer and other sports, I think the children are going to stay in the sport and have more fun if they’re on a team. They want to play with their friends and have fun.
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Any therapist will tell you that when you’re ready, you will come out. To be outed means you weren’t ready.
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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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As far as U.S. tennis, we need new stars coming up in the pipeline, but I don’t know if we have it.
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Champions adjust and pressure is a privilege.
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I would have them do their skill drills as a team and their fun drills together as a team, then they have to have a match at the end of every week. They can’t just have what they call a lesson today every week.
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Sports are a microcosm of society.
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Pressure is a privilege – it only comes to those who earn it.
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Martina and I went through a very bad five years. Everything’s very good between us now, but it was a long haul.
BILLIE JEAN KING