Billie Jean King

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion. ”

I would love to be a player today. I had the right personality for it. ”

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. ”

In the seventies we had to make it acceptable for people to accept girls and women as athletes. We had to make it okay for them to be active. Those were much scarier times for females in sports. ”

There is no life for girls in team sports past Little League. I got into tennis when I realized this, and because I thought golf would be too slow for me, and I was too scared to swim. ”

I like putting money back into what made my life, and tennis has been great to me. ”

I knew after my first lesson what I wanted to do with my life. ”

Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life. ”

Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity. ”

I was always in the tennis business-from 1968. I was in tournaments and also on World Team Tennis teams as well. ”