Billie Jean King has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, america Tennis Affiliation mentioned on Friday, turning into the primary particular person girl athlete to obtain the distinction.
President Joe Biden signed the laws into regulation on Thursday, recognizing King’s groundbreaking contributions each on and off the court docket.
King has lengthy been a trailblazer for gender equality in sports activities and society. The 80-year-old’s relentless advocacy for equal pay in tennis led to the US Open turning into the primary Grand Slam match to supply women and men equal prize cash in 1973, which cemented her legacy as a champion of ladies’s rights.
An unimaginable honor for the outstanding Billie Jean King. ✨ pic.twitter.com/gCI3o43E7p
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 27, 2024
That very same yr, King defeated Bobby Riggs within the “Battle of the Sexes” match, a watershed second for each tennis and the ladies’s motion. Performed in Houston’s Astrodome, some 90 million tuned in worldwide to look at the match, which additional propelled the struggle for equality in sports activities.
“Billie is among the biggest athletes and ambassadors tennis has ever seen, however her influence off the court docket is even larger than her efficiency on it,” mentioned Brian Hainline, chairman and president of the USTA. “She has damaged yet one more barrier with this award.”
King captured 39 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and combined doubles. She was instrumental in founding the Ladies’s Tennis Affiliation.
King is amongst a choose group of athletes to have obtained the Congressional Gold Medal. Eleven particular person athletes, in addition to the 1980 U.S. Olympic group, had obtained the Congressional Gold Medal, however earlier than King all had been males.
