Ever since that day when I was 11 years old, and I wasn’t allowed in a photo because I wasn’t wearing a tennis skirt, I knew that I wanted to change the sport.
BILLIE JEAN KINGWhen 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.
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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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 must keep my sights on the final goal, to win, win, win-and with more love and passion than the world has ever witnessed in any performance.
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Women’s sports is still in its infancy. The beginning of women’s sports in the United States started in 1972, with the passage of Title 9 for girls to finally get athletic scholarships.
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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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Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity.
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Some people do have softer boundaries.
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Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.
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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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Winning comes down to who can execute under pressure.
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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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Champions adjust and pressure is a privilege.
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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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I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.
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I knew after my first lesson what I wanted to do with my life.
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There is no life for girls in team sports past Little League. I got into tennis when I realized this, and because I thought golf would be too slow for me, and I was too scared to swim.
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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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Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody.
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Pressure is a privilege – it only comes to those who earn it.
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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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Sports are a microcosm of society. It just shows how much more competition there is in the world.
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Don’t go into debt and don’t spend a lot. It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much you spend.
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Ladies, here’s a hint. If you’re up against a girl with big boobs, bring her to the net and make her hit backhand volleys. That’s the hardest shot for the well-endowed.
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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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In 1973, women got 59 cents on the dollar; now we are getting 74 cents on the dollar. In the area of finance and business, we are at 68 cents on the dollar.
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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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Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life.
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