Quotes By Billie Jean King

I will tell you King's First Law of Recognition: You never get it when you want it, and then when it comes, you get too much.

Sports are a microcosm of society.

I like putting money back into what made my life, and tennis has been great to me.

I think younger players probably just think they are who they are-they don't think about coming out. Unless you're number one in the world, nobody cares, usually.

I would just never out anybody. I think everyone has to find it in their own way and their own time.

I always wanted to help make tennis a team sport.

I always liked co-ed events best so we have two men and two women on each team.

Women's sports is still in its infancy. The beginning of women's sports in the United States started in 1972, with the passage of Title 9 for girls to finally get athletic scholarships.

I wanted to use sports for social change.

Martina's gone with people who don't want to be out, and it drives her crazy because she'd rather be open.

I didn't really care if I had a coach that much, me personally, because I was brought up to think for myself.

In 1973, women got 59 cents on the dollar; now we are getting 74 cents on the dollar. In the area of finance and business, we are at 68 cents on the dollar.

It is very hard to be a female leader. While it is assumed that any man, no matter how tough, has a soft side... and female leader is assumed to be one-dimensional.

Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.

I was always in the tennis business-from 1968. I was in tournaments and also on World Team Tennis teams as well.

Champions keep playing until they get it right.

That is where the power, opportunity, and choice come from-when you have money. Money equals opportunity. There is no question.

It's fun to meet people from throughout the world who you don't have to explain yourself to.

Be bold. If you're going to make an error, make a doozy, and don't be afraid to hit the ball.

If your partner wants to be private, you have to respect that.

They're not put on earth to be martyrs; they have to want to come out. It depends on your culture, where you work, where you live. Each person's circumstances are unique.

I would love to be a player today. I had the right personality for it.

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.

The main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game you are playing.

Men can have a huge turnover of sponsorship and still survive a lot better than the women. But the women's ratings are better, at least at home in the United States than in the men's tennis.

A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.

In 1973, a woman could not get a credit card without her husband or father or a male signing off on it.

Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody.

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.

In the seventies we had to make it acceptable for people to accept girls and women as athletes. We had to make it okay for them to be active. Those were much scarier times for females in sports.