Tennis legend Billie Jean King attributes her astonishing success on the court – winning 39 Grand Slam titles – to several factors.
“First of all, being born with coordination — thanks to my parents and God,” she told us as she stopped by Deadline’s Sundance Studio to discuss a new documentary about her, Give Me the Ball! “My younger brother played 12 years of professional baseball, Randy Moffitt — Moffitt’s, our birth name. I wanted to be number 1 [in the world]. That helps. I think having a goal. But my quickness, my vertical jump, also my lateral movement’s excellent because I’m not as tall as I’d like to be. And also, my backhand and my volleys.”
Her brilliance as a player and immense popularity with fans would have secured her legacy for all time. Yet it’s what she did with her fame that makes her one of the most remarkable figures in American culture.
ESPN
“She fought for equal pay for women in the sport,” observed Elizabeth Wolff, who co-directed the documentary with Oscar nominee Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone?). “And then through her leadership in tennis, [she] had a platform to really change the hearts and minds of people.”
That platform really became huge in 1973 when King took on former men’s tennis champion Bobby Riggs, who loved to ridicule women as incapable of competing with men. But in what came to be known as the “Battle of the Sexes,” King outsmarted Riggs tactically and whipped him in three straight sets as the nation looked on.
Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs attend a news conference in New York to publicize their match at the Houston Astrodome, July 11, 1973. (AP Photo)
AP
“This was a moment where 90 million people were watching and she could bring the message of equality for men and women and everyone to a global audience,” Wolff said. “And that was just the beginning point because for the last 50 plus years since then, she has continued to do that. And we see the effects of that in women’s sports today. I mean, everything we see today started right here.”
Garbus drew a parallel between King and Sundance founder Robert Redford.
“He didn’t just take leading roles, one leading role after the other. He actually put his money and his energy and his time into creating the next generation of great artists. And I think there’s a lot of DNA crossover between Billie Jean King and Robert Redford. They’ve both got gorgeous eyes,” Garbus noted wryly, “and they both put community ahead of self. And that’s the kind of thing we need today in 2026, are leaders and thinkers like that. And so, I think this is really a film of this moment.”
ESPN will air the documentary at a later date as part of its 30 For 30 series. ESPN is also the U.S. broadcast home to the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year that’s underway in Melbourne. We couldn’t resist asking Billie for her predictions on the winners.
“You have to go with [Carlos] Alcaraz or [Jannik] Sinner, but it’s so hot there. Alcaraz handles the heat better because he is Español. He’s got darker skin. Sinner barely got through his first round… and they had to close the roof is the only reason it saved his you know what — his backside,” said the champ. “And as far as the women, I mean [Aryna] Sabalenka’s number 1 right now, she’s the one to beat. So, we’ll see.”
Watch the full conversation in the video above.
Deadline Studio at Sundance presented by Casamigos.