First published 2021
Billie Jean King opens her memoir with a bold declaration she made at age seven: she would accomplish something great. King chronicles her rise to tennis dominance, capturing twenty Wimbledon titles and thirty-nine Grand Slam victories while holding the world's top ranking for six consecutive years. She details her famous victory over Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes match that captivated the nation. King describes navigating the cultural upheavals of the 1960s, from civil rights protests to anti-war demonstrations, while building her tennis career. She confronts the personal struggles that tested her resolve: battling an eating disorder, facing financial collapse after being publicly outed, and wrestling with her sexual identity for decades. King waited until age fifty-one to declare publicly that she is gay. The memoir explores how her athletic achievements intertwined with her activism for women's rights and LGBTQ+ equality, showing how her commitment to social justice shaped both her career and personal life.
Genres: biography, autobiography, biography-memoir, activism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, overcoming-adversity
Period: 1960s
487 pages · Hardcover · Knopf
Content warnings: eating-disorder