Billie Jean King

There is no life for girls in team sports past _x000D_ Little League. I got into tennis when I realized this, and because I _x000D_ thought golf would be too slow for me, and I was too scared to swim.

I will tell you King's First Law of Recognition: You never get it when you want it, and then when it comes, you get too much.

You've got to win in sports - that's talent - but you've also got to learn how to remind everybody how you did win, and how often. That comes with experience.

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

Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.

The trouble with being number one in the world - in anything- is that it takes a certain mentality to attain that position, and that is something of a driving, perfectionist attitude, so that once you do achieve number one, you don't relax and enjoy it.

Men can have a huge turnover of sponsorship and still survive a lot better than the women. But the women's ratings are better, at least at home in the United States than in the men's tennis.

In 1973, women got 59 cents on the dollar; now we are getting 74 cents on the dollar. In the area of finance and business, we are at 68 cents on the dollar.

I always wanted to help make tennis a team sport.

Any therapist will tell you that when you're ready, you will come out. To be outed means you weren't ready.

When I was outed, it was like, That's done.

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

The main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game you are playing.

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.