At 81, Billie Jean King is still learning and inspiring

By Don Riddell, CNN

(CNN) — In theory, Billie Jean King should have nothing left to prove.

A glittering haul of 39 grand slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles is one of the greatest tennis careers of all time, but it was for her uncompromising pursuit of equality that she transcended the game.

King, one of the founders of the Women’s Tennis Association and who campaigned for equal pay, is a champion for marginalized communities. She’s been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, and the women’s Federation Cup now bears her name.

King is revered as an icon, but she still has unfinished business. At the age of 81, she’s gone back to college and hopes to graduate in May.

As an octogenarian, she’s a senior in more ways than one.

“In those days, women didn’t have many opportunities on what to major in, but I do love history,” she told CNN Sports. “I think you really need to understand history. That’s how you shape the future.”

In the 1960s, King studied the first three years of a history degree at what’s now known as California State University, Los Angeles, but she quit to write her own chapter into the history books.

Now she’s back to finish the job.

“I’m loving the experience, I love reading, I like goals,” she explained. “It’s very interesting how women in the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th century survived. I think our professors are trying to have us realize everyone has some sort of power, no matter what the level.”

King says she had to quit school if she wanted to become the number one tennis player in the world, even if there wasn’t much money in it back then.

“I used to make $18 a day when I was winning Wimbledon,” she said. “Now they’re making millions.”

King alluded to the WTA Finals happening this week, in which the singles champion could win up to $5.235 million. “That gives you an idea of how things have evolved,” she said.

But it’s not just her own academic career that is a work in progress. King’s personality is typically upbeat and vibrant, but she pulls no punches about the world she lives in.

“We haven’t even had a woman president in the Unites States yet,” she said. “I mean, that’s pathetic. We’ve come a long way, but we still have so far to go.”

Now in her ninth decade of life – she’ll turn 82 on November 22 – King shows no sign of slowing down. She said she feels “fantastic” because she hits tennis balls “all the time” and she’s taking her classes remotely because her busy travel schedule would make it almost impossible to attend on campus in Los Angeles.

She’s also excited about music.

“My first love was piano,” she said. “I realized that God had given me more talent in sports, but I’d like to start piano lessons again. That would be really fun.”

She holds up both hands, explaining that the mental stimulation of playing will hopefully stave off dementia, which has tormented other members of her family.

King dressed for the interview in a vibrant Los Angeles Dodgers jacket, basking in the afterglow of their stunning World Series victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. A minority owner of the team, she described it as the best series she’s ever seen but still expressed sympathy for the losing side.

“It’s just got to be very painful,” she said. “Being an athlete, I understand both sides.”

Being able to see both sides has been the key to her success in life and the power of her legacy. King’s partnership with the e.l.f. Beauty cosmetics brand focuses on the advancement of women in sports and gender equality in the corporate world.

“I give an elf about women on the field, and in the boardroom,” she says in a new campaign ad. “I don’t think you can understand inclusion, really, until you’ve been excluded,” she said.

Women’s sports like basketball and soccer are booming in popularity, and King continues to lead from the front. Billie Jean King Enterprises owns minority stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team and Angel City FC in the National Women’s Soccer League. In 2024, she was instrumental in launching the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

“We have billionaires who want to invest in us, and that is huge,” she said with a smile, “so I think women’s professional sports is going to keep going forward.

“I think it’s really important for women to believe in themselves. We’re not taught to believe in ourselves as much as boys. I think boys have been socialized to be brave, which I don’t think is fair to them because no one’s brave all the time, and girls are taught to be perfect. No one’s perfect all the time. That’s one of the reasons, I think, girls’ self-confidence isn’t as high.”

King confesses that she can be too idealistic at times, but she can’t help emphasizing the value of acceptance.

“Be good to each other and be thoughtful,” she said. “Make sure you tell people you see them, you know, ‘I see you, I see you.’”

Whatever happens next, and there may well be a lot more still to come in the life of this extraordinary woman, King’s legacy has long been cemented. She says she feels gratitude for her status, but also a continuing sense of responsibility.

“I’m just very thankful every single day I’ve had this life,” she said. “I know I’m one of the luckiest ones in the world.”

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