Quotes by Billie Jean King

“When they take surveys of women in business, of the Fortune 500, the successful women, 80% of them, say they were in sports as a young woman.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I think it's impossible to judge whether another person should come out. You just hope they will on their own time and their own terms.”

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

“Women get the attention when we get into the men's arena, and that's sad.”

“Sports are a microcosm of society.”

“Champions keep playing until they get it right.”

“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“There is no life for girls in team sports past Little League. I got into tennis when I realized this, and because I thought golf would be too slow for me, and I was too scared to swim.”

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