admin answers:

Most of the top current/retired tennis players have their own websites, where you can send emails. A bit of googling yields the following official websites:

Billie-Jean King:

http://www.wtt.com/page.aspx?article_id=1252

Steffi Graf:

http://steffi-graf.net/en/

Martina Navaratilova:
http://www.martinanavratilova.com/

admin answers:

We know her name because she rose up to the challenge of a big mouth who had just defeated (6-1, 6-2) Margaret Court, who was at the time 30 years old and the top female player in the world. So he COULD play some tennis. BJK was risking getting embarrassed, but she took up the challenge and beat him in a best-of-five set format. Bobby Riggs had been a number one ranked player in his day, so even at 55, he still had some skills.

This is not to say that the top woman could beat a legit pro male player today. I don’t think Serena could beat any man in the top 100 or 150 in a best-of-five set format. The male game is just way too fast and way too powerful. Serena’s never had to return serves coming at her at 130mph.

Still the other reason we know Billie Jean King’s name is that she won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 27 doubles/mixed doubles Grand Slams. She was also the first prominent female athlete to acknowledge she was a lesbian, which was a big step forward for pro sports.

admin answers:

Very appropriate given that she is the greatest American born woman tennis player in history
grand slam singles : 12
“” “” ” Doubles : 16
“” “” Mixed Doubles : 11

Now that is a very busy Grand Slam Player, To have that many singles titles coupled with such a brilliant doubles record.

Put that together with her off court work for tennis and the honour is richly deserved

admin answers:

In 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs. He was a former Wimbledon champion and male chauvinist pig, god bless him, who was a world champion in 1939 at the age of 16 and was washed up by 1950. He was 26 years her senior. So don’t get too excited ladies. He was old and decrepit by the time she spanked him. Although 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 really can’t be called a spanking against an old man can it? I mean he was 55 years old practically a Sr. Citizen by then and she was a top seeded woman on the WTA at 29.

Riggs played and beat a champion tennis player named Margaret Court on Mother’s Day 1973, and immediately challenged Billie Jean King saying, “I want Billie Jean King. . . . I want the women’s lib leader!” Riggs boasted loudly that even the much younger Billie Jean King, at age twenty-nine, was no match for him, by mere virtue of his manhood. Yep she showed him didn’t she.

Since Billie Jean later came out of the closet doesn’t that kinda spoil the Battle of the Sexes title just a bit. Now be honest…..wouldn’t you expect a 55 year old male with prostrate cancer to loose to a 29 year old shemale.
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Jean_King

admin answers:

It brought more respect for women’s tennis. Bobby Riggs, who was a good player in his prime bragged that he could beat any woman player, and he had already beaten Margaret Court, one of the best ever. He was known for playing with odd handicaps such as with a broom instead of a racquet, or playing with obstacles on his side of the court. Besides respect, it brought tennis in general a lot of publicity at a time when tennis was starting to boom in popularity, so probably created an interest in learning to play for many potential players.