Billie Jean King sparked huge momentum in gender equality with her win over Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes tennis match. More than 50 years later, King is happy to see the movement thriving while more women take the spotlight in athletics, particularly in basketball.
"Caitlin Clark, I mean come on. We all saw Caitlin," King said. "I think Reese is amazing. Angel Reese, I've met her. JuJu Watkins, she's great.
"… I watch UCLA, South Carolina. I love Dawn Staley, the coach. She's got a new contract making the most money, which I love because that means everybody else has a chance to make more. If somebody else makes more, it can help psychologically that they'll make more."
The women King mentioned are already leaving their mark, but as someone who knows what it's like to carry the weight of women's sports on her shoulders as a former world No. 1 and 39-time Grand Slam winner, she emphasized "legacy" is not important.
"I always ask a person, 'What do you want?' Not what the world wants, not what your parents want. What do you want?" King said. "And you'll be surprised how many young people aren't sure."
"... I want people to be happy, and fulfilled. And don't think about your legacy either. What accomplishments can you leave? What contributions can you leave to the world? That's what's important to me. People go, 'What about your legacy?' Legacy is what other people say about you. That's not important."
The Battle of the Sexes marked a monumental opportunity to leave a contribution to women's sports, and after winning the match in straight sets, King admitted she worried a loss would have set women athletes back 50 years. It was an achievement that put more respect on women's tennis, but it was just one of her countless contributions to the sports world.
King also took a huge risk three years earlier when she and eight other women signed a $1 contract with Gladys Heldman to protest unequal prize money in tennis. King founded the Women's Tennis Association in 1973, which was a key part of the effort. It took a while before equality was achieved, but as of 2007, all four Grand Slams offer equal prize money to men and women.
"The women today are living our dream, the one that we started," King said, while also emphasizing every sport has pioneers to recognize.
King highlighted the American Basketball League in the 1990s, which although was short-lived, was an important part of women's basketball history.
"People go, 'Well they didn't make it.' It doesn't matter," King said. "They are like stepping stones. These aren't failures, these are stepping stones."
At the age of 81, King is nowhere near done when it comes to inspiring others. She recently partnered with Dove for their Body Confident Sport program, a global initiative aiming to stop girls from dropping out of sports due to body image concerns.
King said the biggest message she hopes to get across to all women, not just athletes, is about focusing on strengths, not weaknesses, and also practicing positive self-talk.
"It helps in real life. It's really important for girls when they are growing up that they have great strong visualization," King said. "Very strong self-talk is really important like, 'I can do this, I like this, this is fun and I believe in myself.' These are the things that girls need to believe to have a better life."
