More than anyone, King was the role model for the 1972 passage of Title IX, a piece of legislation designed to ensure women equal opportunities in sports. In 1971, one in 27 girls participated in high school sports. By 1997, that figure was one in three. Studies reveal that women who play sports enjoy a wide range of benefits, from increased self-esteem to greater academic achievement. The sport of tennis burst into a movement known as "Women's Lob." Life magazine would subsequently honor King as one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century.

Yet for all her battle scars, in conversation King comes across, more eager to discuss the latest book on the best-seller list. "As a tennis player, I was a hothead. I'm pretty soft elsewhere."

Billie Jean Moffitt was born on Novem

Billie Jean asked for a divorce in 1969, but backed off when Larry convinced her that it was worth holding on.

Through all of this, King played the best tennis of her career, reigning as the preeminent woman player of the early '70s and eventually winning 39 Grand Slam titles, including a record 20 Wimbledon crowns.

Back then, it was virtually impossible for a tennis player, male or female, to earn a living. Tennis' leaders, clinging to the sport's aristocratic British heritage, decreed that the game be run as an "amateur" sport. Players were granted minimal dollars to cover expenses. The very best amateurs were given under-the-table payments, with most of these funds going to men. Those few that dared to become professional tennis players were banned from events at Wimbledon and Forest Hills and forced to search around the world to play in dimly lit arenas, parking lots, and even courts made of cow dung.

In 1971, Billie Jean found out she was pregnant. Billie Jean had an abortion in California, where it was legal, and would later be one of 50 women featured in a Ms. magazine poster which legalized abortions throughout the United States.

But just as King's playing career was winding down, she found herself facing a challenge nastier than any tennis rival. For a brief time in the early '70s, Billie Jean had had an affair with her secretary, Marilyn Barnett. In early 1981, Marilyn sued Billie Jean for palimony, preposterously claiming she was entitled to a share of King's earnings. King's lawyers urged discretion, but Billie Jean chose a harder road, and held a press conference to get the Barnett relationship out in the open once and for all. Though King won the lawsuit battle, there was fallout. Corporate America rejected her, costing King an estimated $1.5 million in endorsements. Far worse was the emotional cost. "I'm probably still getting over that," she says. "No one likes being outed--in anything."

Billie Jean balanced college at Cal State Los Angeles and tennis for three years, until 1964 when she dropped out to try to make a living at her sport. "Being a women athlete didn't mean much in the '60s," she says. "It was a struggle. There was no attention, no support, no structure, no money." In 1967, six of the top amateur men were earning between $600 and $1,000 to play a single

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