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?
BILLIE JEAN KINGBeing Number One isn’t everything to me, but for those few hours on the court it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place.
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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Being Number One isn’t everything to me, but for those few hours on the court it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place.
BILLIE JEAN KING -
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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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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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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I like entrepreneurial people; I like people who take risks.
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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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Champions take responsibility.
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The most important words that have helped me in life, when things have gone right or when things have gone wrong are ‘accept responsibility.’
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Marriage isn’t a 50-50 proposition very often. It’s more like 100-0 one moment and 0-100 the next.
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It’s important to try to get people to think about women’s wellness.
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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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No one changes the world who isn’t obsessed.
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Champions keep playing until they get it right.
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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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I would love to be a player today. I had the right personality for it.
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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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Each point I play is in the now moment. The last point means nothing, the next point means nothing.
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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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Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity.
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Winning comes down to who can execute under pressure.
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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 was always in the tennis business-from 1968. I was in tournaments and also on World Team Tennis teams as well.
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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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People say, “Do you know how much a million dollars is?” I don’t have a clue. How many Big Macs will it buy me?
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Sports are a microcosm of society.
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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.
BILLIE JEAN KING