Keynote Speaker: Billie Jean King
Athlete, Visionary, Innovator

As one of the 20th century’s most respected women, Billie Jean King has long been a champion for social change and equality. She created new inroads for women in and out of sports during her legendary career and she continues to make her mark today.

Ms. King is one of the most illustrious and celebrated tennis players in history and is recognized for spearheading the women's movement in tennis and for her life-long struggle for equality in sports and life. She empowered women and educated men when she defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the great moments in sports history - the Battle of the Sexes in 1973.

In 1990, Life Magazine named Billie Jean King one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century.” In 1994, she ranked No. 5 on Sports Illustrated’s “Top 40 Athletes” list for significantly altering or elevating sports the last four decades.

Ms. King, who grew up in California and now resides in New York and Chicago, has been heralded as an ardent defender of equal rights for all humankind. She founded the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974 to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity and, in 1987, she established World TeamTennis Charities, Inc. to promote health, fitness, education, and social change. She continues to be a leader in the fight for equality and recognition in the GLBT community, and has been honored by many of the leading GLBT organizations, including GLAAD, Lambda Legal Foundation and the San Francisco GLBT Historical Society. Currently she serves as a director on several boards including the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Two of Billie Jean King’s largest honors came this past year. In August the National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in honor of her contributions to tennis, sports and society both on and off the court. In October she was honored when the National Sports Museum and the Women’s Sports Foundation announced that the Billie Jean King International Women’s Sports Center, the first Hall of Fame dedicated to women’s sports, will be housed at the National Sports Museum in New York City in 2008.

Other Accomplishments, Honors and Awards include:

• 20 Wimbledon titles including six singles titles
  
• Champion, U.S. Open (four times)
  
• Champion, French Open (1972)
  
• Champion, Australian Open (1968)
  
• No. 1 in the world five times between 1966 and 1972
  
• Top 10 World ranking a total of 17 years
  
• First woman athlete to win more than $100,000 in any sport (1971)
  
• First woman to coach a professional team with men, Philadelphia Freedoms/World TeamTennis (1974)
  
• Coach, U.S. Olympic and Fed Cup teams, including four Olympic medals and four Fed Cup titles
  
• Founder, Women’s Tennis Association, Women’s Sports Magazine
  
• Co-founder, World TeamTennis
  
• Philippe Chatrier Award, the International Tennis Federation’s highest honor, for extraordinary
  contributions to the sport of tennis
  
• Inaugural inductee into the Court of Champions at the USTA National Tennis Center (one of six)
  
• Member, International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the National Women’s Hall of Fame
  
• The Elizabeth Blackwell Award, for exemplifying outstanding service to humanity
  
• The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, for her fight to bring equality to women’s sports
  
• Inaugural inductee into the California Hall of Fame

For more information on the YWCA Annual Luncheon, please e-mail Heidi Lawson, Community Relations Manager, or call her at (408) 295-4011 ext. 216.