King of the Tennis Court
With the Austrialian Open Tennis Championships coming up, it gives tennis fans an opportunity to brush up on their history of the sport and of the legends who have made the sport what it is today. Though there are many great female players today, perhaps none of that would have been possible for them if it had not been Billie Jean King that came on the scene.
Her life has been one filled with many firsts. Perhaps the most important first in her life was her first tennis racket bought when she was eleven with money she had saved up doing little jobs here and there for family and friends. It was about eight dollars, but would soon provide her with much more than that. King has always had a drive to be number one and to be great at something, namely tennis as she later found out after a set of tennis lessons that were free.
She has had to fight discrimination throughout the years due to her nonconformist attitudes. For instance, she was not allowed in a photo with her peers in ’55 because she wore shorts and the skirt women were expected to wear. She was playing at the Los Angeles Tennis Club at the time for the tournament being held there.
However, such discrimination did bring her down. Rather her pushed her harder break down barriers and boundaries for women in sports. In ’71, another first for any female in any sport, she won prize of one hundred grand. Yet this was not good enough for her either, because the prize money for men and women had been disparate for quite a while, the male tennis player money being more than the women’s. After fighting for equal money, she won in ’73.
Perhaps more than any other player in tennis, she has had the most impact due interest in not only making tennis more interesting but also more fair. Her politicizing of the sport has helped to make it a more diverse and gratifying one to watch. She will no doubt be mentioned during the commentary for the Australian Open in passing, such is her influence still.
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