Battle Of The Sexes-Billie Jean King
Billie Jean comes from learning the game on free public tennis courts and in her legendary career, won 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles tennis titles, including a record 20 championships at Wimbledon.
She was one of nine players who broke away from the tennis establishment in 1970 and accepted $1 contracts from tennis promoter Gladys Heldman in Houston. The revolt led to the birth of women’s professional tennis and the formation of the Virginia Slims Tour (where Chaz Seale, our Coworker with Colorado sponsorship of Virginia Slims Professional Tennis) and the 1973 founding of the Women’s Tennis Association.
Billie Jean King empowered women and educated men when she defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the greatest moments in sports history -the Battle of the Sexes in 1973. This match is remembered for its effect on society and its impact on Title IX, the women’s movement and equality in sports and in life.
Named one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life Magazine in 1990, Billie Jean King has authored several books and has been the subject of movies and documentaries.
In 2009, she was awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Obama at The White House, and in 2014 she partnered with Teneo to launch the Billie Jean Leadership Initiative to address equality, inclusion and diversity issues in the workplace.
Billie Jean King shares her love of growing Tennis with our Founder, Lenny Schloss. Billie Jean and Lenny will accomplish this paradigm shift through Point of Contact Training which trains the head (eyes) to no longer shift during the crucial last micro-second of any shot.