The main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game you are playing.
BILLIE JEAN KINGIt’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.
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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I like entrepreneurial people; I like people who take risks.
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Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.
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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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It’s about learning your craft. That’s a wonderful thing–especially with today’s consumerism and instant gratification.
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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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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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Every generation I think gets better usually [in tennis].
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Champions adjust and pressure is a privilege.
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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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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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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 have a lot to say, and if I’m not No. 1, I can’t say it.
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I feel that tennis is an art form that is capable of moving the players and the audience – at least a knowledgeable audience-in almost sensual ways.
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Winning comes down to who can execute under pressure.
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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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Trust and respect is something you earn, not something that is given.
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We have, or have had women presidents or prime ministers in Liberia, Chile, Germany, Great Britain…and yet the US of A still hasn’t had a women president. It’s just beyond my thinking. Look at Congress.
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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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I like to see what future generations are thinking about.
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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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Champions take responsibility.
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When I was outed, it was like, That’s done.
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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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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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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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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.
BILLIE JEAN KING