The Woman Who Transformed Tennis

Billie Jean King chases down a ball in the U.S. Open semifinals in '71. (By Harry Harris -- Associated Press)

When she was 12, Billie Jean King was invited to play at the Los Angeles Tennis Club with a group of up-and-coming junior players. Her mother sewed her a pair of white shorts for the occasion, but upon arrival, Billie Jean was told she would not be allowed to be in a group photograph because she was not wearing a tennis dress or skirt.

She didn't even know what a tennis dress was. Taken aback, she looked around the courts, at all the swirling skirts and lace bloomers and the glasses-free girls who wore them, and then at her own oversize spectacles. She looked at the clean-cut boys in their collared shirts. And she was struck, instantly, by the alien world she had entered. Tennis, she realized, was a sport that was snooty, closed, rigid and white. And something started to bubble up inside her.

"I had an epiphany, that I want to change things," King says a half-century later in a new HBO documentary. "I was very clear that unless I was Number 1, no one was going to listen to me. . . . If God gave me this gift, I was going to do everything in my power to make this world a better place."

Those words set the tone for HBO's well-made "Sports of the 20th Century" special, "Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer," which premieres tonight at 10. HBO has built a strong reputation around its Emmy-winning sports coverage, including "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," which is known for delving into the connections between sports, history and social change. The channel's latest entry is no different.

"Billie Jean King" is, on one hand, the life story of one of the most talented women ever to play the game. But it's also a social commentary that captures King as far more than an athlete. King, after all, was a staunch advocate of equal rights for women players and, as such, "became not only a leader in women's tennis, but a symbol in the women's movement," legendary sportswriter Frank Deford says in one of his many insightful comments during the documentary.

By mixing interviews (with Deford, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, King's ex-husband and King herself, among others) with old photographs, family films and lots of footage, executive producers Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein capture not just King's legendary career, but also her significance as a public figure.

As an athlete, she set a Wimbledon record by winning 20 titles (since tied by Navratilova) and held the No. 1 ranking five times. She was also relentless -- and remains so -- in her efforts to gain equal rights for women in her sport. Just last week, King, 62, pushed anew for equal prize money for men and women at Wimbledon.That's just one of many battles she's fought. In the 1970s, King was a catalyst for the formation of a women's professional tour (sponsored by Virginia Slims) and led the drive to organize her fellow players into what would become the Women's Tennis Association. She testified before Congress in support of Title IX, legislation that provided equal athletic opportunities for young women and girls at school. She stood next to Gloria Steinem at rallies for women's rights. And, after a past lover filed a palimony suit against her in 1981, essentially outing her as a lesbian, she eventually became a public advocate for gay rights.

No one can forget how King created worldwide headlines when she won the "Battle of the Sexes" singles match, beating self-declared male chauvinist Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in 1973. Greenburg and Bernstein do an excellent job of capturing both the event's circuslike atmosphere and its cultural significance.

Did King change the world? According to "Portrait of a Pioneer," yes. As Deford puts it: "She and Jackie Robinson are the two figures in sports who stand out in the culture. She should be honored for what she did."

Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer (60 minutes) premieres tonight at 10 on HBO.