I was always in the tennis business-from 1968. I was in tournaments and also on World Team Tennis teams as well.
BILLIE JEAN KINGIn 1973, a woman could not get a credit card without her husband or father or a male signing off on it.
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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I always respect right off the bat because we are human, but then over time you learn who the person truly is, just like they learn about you.
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When you oppress people either by gender, by race, by sexual orientation, when you do that and the doors become ajar, they will fly open and they will come and they have.
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I like entrepreneurial people; I like people who take risks.
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It’s important to try to get people to think about women’s wellness.
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I knew after my first lesson what I wanted to do with my life.
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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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You just know where to put the ball. You just feel it. It has been computed into your brain so many times it is there.
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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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Each point I play is in the now moment. The last point means nothing, the next point means nothing.
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Bobby Riggs was one of my heroes. I admired him. That’s one of the reasons I beat him – because I respected him.
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Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity.
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It’s your birthday today, so what would you say, if we turned that frown upside down
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I always liked co-ed events best so we have two men and two women on each team.
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You have got to want to be the best before you can even begin to reach for that goal, and you have got to be prepared to sacrifice a lot to get there.
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I always think it’s best to pretend you’re in a tenuous position. Just as a player, you always want to stay in the now and work hard but also have goals for the future.
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Sports are a microcosm of society.
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When they take surveys of women in business, of the Fortune 500, the successful women, 80% of them, say they were in sports as a young woman.
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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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I always listen, I ask children, I even ask adults in tennis, “What are your children playing?” And most of the time it’s not tennis. It’s pathetic.
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Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.
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When I was outed, it was like, That’s done.
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A girl didn’t get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time.
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The old boy network is still very strong and very true. Just look at the stock exchange and how many men and women are there. It is still very much run by men.
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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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That is where the power, opportunity, and choice come from-when you have money. Money equals opportunity. There is no question.
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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.
BILLIE JEAN KING