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.
BILLIE JEAN KINGThat’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?
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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You do have to get players every year. You have to deal with calendar. You have to deal with all kinds of things in our sport, like every sport does.
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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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When I was outed, it was like, That’s done.
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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 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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I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.
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There’s no promises in any entrepreneurial business. You have to really work hard every year and also try to envision where you want to go in the future at the same time.
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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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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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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 like to see what future generations are thinking about.
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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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You’ve got to win in sports – that’s talent – but you’ve also got to learn how to remind everybody how you did win, and how often. That comes with experience.
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When a child signs up for tennis, he or she is put on a team. I put them in a circle and then I make sure they name their own team.
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Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.
BILLIE JEAN KING







