The USTA (United States Tennis Association) main center, home of the US Open in New York, was renamed in 2006 the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The Federation Cup, the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup team, was called the Billie Jean King Cup for several years.
The American Coco Gauff, champion of the last US Open at the age of 19, received the trophy from Billie Jean King, whom she publicly thanked with the bank check for 3 million dollars received as the new queen of the last Grand Slam of the season. Exactly the same amount won by the men’s best, the Serbian, the next day Novak Djokovic.
The 2023 edition is not just another in US Open history. It is also a timeless tribute to the fiftieth anniversary of equality in financial awards between men and women. And if there’s a towering figure in the fight for equality, it’s Billie Jean King, who at 79 continues to front a front she championed in the 70s. Work that matches her status as champion of twelve titles of Grand Slam singles, in addition to six other finals.
A recognized icon who was not silent when he pocketed $10,000 at the 1972 US Open, when the Romanian Ilie Nastase he took 25,000. “We will not come back next year unless there is an equal prize,” he claimed. BJK at a press conference. So it happened, in 1973 parity began at that event.
Also last September, in 1970, she led the group of 9 that spawned the women’s professional circuit, the Virgnia Slims, which premiered in Houston.
September also appears in the biography of Billie Jean King because of one of the most famous fights in history, which recently also had its own movie, with Emma Stone as BJK. On September 20, 1973, the tennis player accepted the challenge known as the ‘Battle of the Sexes’, which was played at the Houston Astrodome.
After refusing several times, he accepted the challenge of Bobby Riggs, another Californian who was champion of Wimbledon and the USA championship in 1939, as well as a finalist at Roland Garros. Charlatan, gambler and very misogynist, at 55 years old he made sure that he could beat the best, that he had to put the women who asked for equality in their place.
He beat the Australian Margaret Court, 31, 6-1 and 6-2. That alerted Billie Jean King, 29, to silence those denied equal rights. And he agreed to play against Riggs, who thought more about the money for the television rights and the $100,000 prize than anything else. For him, however, it furthers the cause.
There was then a record number of spectators at a tennis match with 30,472 fans, who saw her enter the court like Cleopatra, while Riggs looked like a pharaoh with scantily clad slaves. Estimated around 90 million viewers worldwide.
King won 6-4, 3-6 and 6-3. In 1972 history repeated itself, with Jimmy Connorseven with disabilities, beatings Martina Navratilova by 7-5 and 6-2 in Las Vegas.
Fifty years later, this battle of the sexes remains alive, unresolved in many of its aspects.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
