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I wanted to use sports for social change.

Billie Jean King

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Billie Jean King
Age: 81
Born: 1943
Born: November 22
Sports Commentator
Tennis Coach
Tennis Player
Long Beach
California
Billie Jean Moffitt
Sports
Use
Social
Change
Wanted

More quotes by Billie Jean King

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It's really impossible for athletes to grow up. On the one hand, you're still a child, still playing a game. But on the other hand, you're a superhuman hero that everyone dreams of being. No wonder we have such a hard time understanding who we are.
Billie Jean King
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I always respect right off the bat because we are human, but then over time you learn who the person truly is, just like they learn about you. Hope it works out really well, and you hope that builds a stronger connection over time. You can't be friends with everybody.
Billie Jean King
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I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.
Billie Jean King
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No matter how tough, no matter what kind of outside pressure, no matter how many bad breaks along the way, I must keep my sights on the final goal, to win, win, win-and with more love and passion than the world has ever witnessed in any performance.
Billie Jean King
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Be bold. If you're going to make an error, make a doozy, and don't be afraid to hit the ball.
Billie Jean King
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Reputation is what others think about you. What's far more important is character, because that is what you think about yourself.
Billie Jean King
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I feel that tennis is an art form that is capable of moving the players and the audience - at least a knowledgeable audience-in almost sensual ways. When I'm performing at my absolute best, I think that some of the euphoria I feel must be transmitted to the audience.
Billie Jean King
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When I was playing, we didn't have to compete against everybody in the world. Now it's a truly global sport, so the competition's much greater, just like it is for our children in every other area, whether it be in science or technology or whatever you talk about.
Billie Jean King
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I like entrepreneurial people I like people who take risks.
Billie Jean King
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It's about learning your craft. That's a wonderful thing--especially with today's consumerism and instant gratification. You can'tbuy that. It's about making decisions, corrections, choices. I don't think it's so much about becoming a tennis player. It's about becoming a person.
Billie Jean King
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Women get the attention when we get into the men's arena, and that's sad.
Billie Jean King
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We have, or have had women presidents or prime ministers in Liberia, Chile, Germany, Great Britain...and yet the US of A still hasn't had a women president. It's just beyond my thinking. Look at Congress.
Billie Jean King
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I love to promote our sport. I love grass-roots tennis. I love coaching. I love all parts of the sport. I love the business side.
Billie Jean King
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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.
Billie Jean King
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It's very important to take tennis to the people. For young people, they get to see the best in the world.
Billie Jean King
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A girl didn't get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time.
Billie Jean King
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When people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say “Why?”, say “Why not?
Billie Jean King
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Don't worry about what people say.
Billie Jean King
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Tennis taught me so many lessons in life. One of the things it taught me is that every ball that comes to me, I have to make a decision. I have to accept responsibility for the consequences every time I hit a ball.
Billie Jean King
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As far as U.S. tennis, we need new stars coming up in the pipeline, but I don't know if we have it.
Billie Jean King