Billie Jean King - The Interview

The Tennis Podcast

David Law

Tennis, Wimbledon, Sports, Sports & Recreation

4.6 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 January 2021

⏱️ 106 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is a conversation between Catherine Whitaker and Billie Jean King.

Through stories about the Battle of the Sexes, the Original 9, the awarding of equal prize money at the US Open in 1973, her time spent with Bud Collins, and knowing Althea Gibson, Billie Jean connects the past with the present, explaining why it’s so important to know your tennis history and how it impacts the modern game.

Now 77-years-old, Billie Jean’s love for tennis and her desire for it to be as good as it possibly can be shine through. She makes the case for there to be more team events, recognises some elements which are holding the sport back, but ultimately provides an optimistic message about tennis’ future, buoyed by the direction leaders such as Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff are taking it.

There are moments of intense introspection, too, as she talks candidly about her struggle to be her authentic self, her regrets, the challenges of competing at the top level in your late 30s, what it means to ‘stay in the room’, and the responsibility that comes with having her name on the Billie Jean King Cup.

The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments.

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Our Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund 2021 went live on December 1st and we reached our funding goal just two days later.

Thank you to everyone that has backed us, sent words of encouragement and kindness, and simply appreciated the podcast for what it is. You have ensured that the pod will continue weekly in 2021, daily at Slams, and with plenty of interviews and Tennis Re-Lived along the way.

The Kickstarter will remain open until mid-January, so here's the link if you want to show your support, get yourself a shout-out or an intro, or just buy us a beer - https://tennispodca.st/Kickstarter2021w

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Billie Jean King and you're listening to the tennis podcast.
0:15.4	Billie Jean, it is such an immense pleasure to have you.
0:19.5	You have enabled me to fulfill a new year's goal quicker than ever before in my life.
0:26.8	It's January the 5th and I've already achieved my one goal for the year, which is to interview you for the podcast.
0:32.7	Say thank you so, so much for being with us.
0:36.3	It's such an honor. I just remember Ilana bugging me about listening and doing it in
0:44.6	Maricorillo bugged us, bugged Ilana and then Ilana bugged me.
0:49.8	And so I started listening to the tennis podcast and it's you guys are hilarious.
0:55.7	You and David and Matt, oh my, it's so adorable.
1:00.8	You guys get along so well. It's just so great the chemistry and then also
1:05.8	where you come from, a little different point of view.
1:08.6	Obviously you're a girl, they're not, they're a boy, whatever that helps to
1:12.2	to have balance, I think. So anyway, it's just fantastic.
1:16.4	Anyway, it's such an honor and privilege for me to be on the tennis podcast and
1:20.4	I didn't realize you've been going, I think since what 2012 even or some
1:24.3	2012.
1:25.1	Digulous. I've got, I'm never going to catch up. I mean, such an effort.
1:28.7	The last few days, I think I've listened maybe to nine or ten hours.
1:31.9	Oh my goodness. But I have, I have a long way to go because I plan to go back and look at all of
1:37.5	them and check out. No, I love history. I love, I just listened to the Althea Gibson one.
1:43.1	Thanks for sending me the information. That was fantastic. Zena and Leslie and Richard Evan's story
1:50.2	was great because I've known Richard forever. I did not know that about that he had met
	...

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