At the U.S. Open,
it's good to be Billie Jean King

She's come a long way, baby. At 12, Billie Jean King was excluded from her first group photo because she wasn't wearing a tennis dress. At 26, she and eight others were barred by what is now the U.S. Tennis Association for joining the Virginia Slims tour and seeking better prize money. At 37, she was outed for a past lesbian affair and lost millions of dollars in endorsements. On Monday the USTA will officially add King's name to the National Tennis Center during an opening-night ceremony at the U.S. Open. USTA chairman Franklin Johnson called her with the news. "The first thing I thought about when Franklin told me was all the people who helped me along the way," said King, the first woman in tennis to have a major sports facility named in her honor. King's mother, Betty Moffitt, who hand-sewed the offending shorts, attended the recent announcement at Arthur Ashe Stadium of the new USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center along with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and former mayor David Dinkins. It's the first Grand Slam tennis complex named for a player. Margaret Court, who won a record 62 Grand Slam titles--tops among men and women--has a court named in her honor at the Australian Open. The main arena at Melbourne Park is named for Rod Laver. The French Open facility, named for World War I flying ace Roland Garros, features Suzanne Lenglen and Philippe Chatrier courts. Wimbledon has busts of its U.K. champions Virginia Wade, Ann Haydon Jones, and Fred Perry. The U.S. Open in 1997 renamed its main stadium posthumously for Arthur Ashe, the first black man to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. The USTA passed up millions in potential naming rights to honor King. "It's great Billie got top billing--maybe it will start a trend," Martina Navratilova said. "It's phenomenal because it's the first time a woman has had that honor. And to get it named after her while she's living, she gets to enjoy it." King, the only woman to win U.S. singles titles on all four surfaces--grass, clay, carpet, and hard--won a record 20 Wimbledon titles and 13 U.S. Open championships. The younger generation of tennis players have come to appreciate King's accomplishments. She finished her career with 39 Grand Slam titles, more than any American-born woman and third all-time behind Court and Navratilova (58). "It's awesome," Serena Williams said. "She is the epitome of not only women's tennis but women's sports. She did so much for women's sports, and being one of the backers of Title IX, starting our tour, and saying we deserve equal prize money. I'm a great admirer of her. I really love Billie." King cofounded the WTA Tour, which now offers an annual $60 million in prize money at 63 events in 35 countries. She beat Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes" match in 1973 and cofounded World Team Tennis and the Women's Sports Foundation. King gained equal prize money at the U.S. Open in 1973 and testified on behalf of Title IX, the federal law that banned sex discrimination in schools and opened academic and sports opportunities for women. Lindsay Davenport, like the Williams sisters, was coached by King at Fed Cup events. "She's the reason why we are the most successful professional sport in the world," Davenport said. "I was surprised it didn't happen earlier." Pete Sampras called King "a legend." He and wife Bridgette got to know King and her partner, Ilana Kloss, while playing tennis at a benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. "I'll never forget there was a two-year stretch there when I wasn't playing well," Sampras said. "She dropped me a few calls for a little inspiration and support. That meant a lot to me when I was going through a tough time. There are some very nice people in the sport, and she's one of them." King helped put tennis on the map in the early 1970s with the Virginia Slims tour and its "You've come a long way, baby" promotional ads. Women were paid 10% of what men earned in prize money until the creation of the Slims tour. "She deserves all the applause," Jimmy Connors said. "You look at it in terms of her accomplishments, the way she played tennis, the increased interest in the game. I'm sure she ran into a lot of brick walls on the court, and what about off the court? You can't pick anyone better." Rosie Casals, who teamed with King for seven Grand Slam doubles titles, was impressed that the USTA made such a bold move. Only a few female athletes have had facilities named for them, notably Jackie Joyner-Kersee (track and field), Dorothy Hamill (figure skating), Janet Evans (swimming), and Tracy Caulkins (swimming). "Something like that is not a Wimbledon title, or a U.S. Open title, but something beyond that," Casals said. "And that's what Billie Jean has meant. She is beyond tennis." King grew up playing at public parks in Long Beach, Calif., and was excluded from the photo at her first sanctioned tournament by Southern California tennis czar Perry T. Jones. "The shorts day, my mother was horrified," King said. "I said, 'Don't worry, Mom, he'll be sorry someday.'" The 62-year-old King recently was selected to lead a USTA committee that identifies promising players. She met a young John McEnroe when he was 17 at the New York home of Mary Carillo, his mixed doubles partner. He was amazed that King was constantly thinking of ways to improve the sport. "Her passion for it jolted me," McEnroe said. "I walked out of Mary's house thinking there's something special about that person." So special that a once-chauvinist McEnroe is now practically a feminist. "She's the one person most important to women's sports," he said. "You look at tennis, it's light years ahead of other sports." (AP)