Billie Jean King revisits fight for women's tennis in new documentary

Billie Jean King has revisited the creation of the women's professional tennis tour and her landmark victory over Bobby Riggs in a new interview about the documentary Give Me the Ball!. Speaking to the Guardian, the 82-year-old former world number one discussed the film's account of her career and said she deliberately limited her involvement in shaping how her story was told.

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The documentary examines the nine players who established the first major women's professional tour in 1970. Led largely by King, they signed symbolic one-dollar contracts with World Tennis publisher Gladys Heldman as a protest against unequal prize money. The Guardian's report connects that breakaway with King's wider campaign to secure equal rewards for women and men in the sport.

Much of the film centres on 1973, when King defeated Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes exhibition match. Alongside that widely remembered sporting achievement, it explores the personal difficulties she was experiencing during the same period. King told the newspaper that documentaries can suffer when their subjects exercise too much influence, explaining why she chose not to ask many questions during production.

The film also includes footage of a 1988 tennis clinic where King worked with Serena and Venus Williams. Serena describes the clinic as an important experience in her life. King recalled being impressed by Serena's serve at six years old and advising her not to change it. Although she remembered a local newspaper filming the session, she had not previously seen the recordings and welcomed their inclusion.

King's playing record provides the sporting background to the documentary: she won 39 Grand Slam titles, comprising 12 in singles, 16 in doubles and 11 in mixed doubles. Across those disciplines, her 20 Wimbledon titles are matched only by Martina Navratilova, according to the Guardian. King retired from professional singles competition in 1983, before the clinic featured in the film.

The interview also covered King's continued work beyond competition. She and her wife, Ilana Kloss, support younger generations through the Women's Sports Foundation and the Billie Jean King Foundation. King returned last year to the history degree she had left in 1964 and graduated earlier this year, describing an appetite for learning that has continued long after her playing career.