It’s July 4, 1975. All eyes are on the Centre Court in London as Billie Jean King takes on Evonne Cawley in the Wimbledon final. But before fans can get comfortable for a marathon battle, King ends it. In just 40 minutes, she wins her sixth singles trophy at the All England Club. She bested Evonne with a brutal score line of 6-0, 6-1. While King termed this match as “perfection”, a popular magazine that year believed otherwise. According to this magazine, she was “basically finished” despite her Centre Court triumph. It’s been 50 years now. But King still remembers that unforgettable cover. Not to mention, it featured her compatriot and WTA icon Chris Evert.
For the uninitiated, Billie Jean King was an undisputed Wimbledon queen in the late 60s and early 70s. From 1966 to 1973, she went on to lift the Ladies’ singles trophy five times. Until Evert emerged. Evert lost the 1973 final against King, but eventually clinched her maiden Wimbledon trophy in 1974. She beat Russia’s Olga Morozova with a score line of 6-0, 6-4. As a result, her victory propelled several outlets to project her as the next star of the grass major. Ahead of the 1975 edition, Radio Times published an issue (between June 21 and June 27), pitting Evert against King. The title on the cover read, “The queen and King”. The storyline: “Champion Chris Evert is back at Wimbledon to defend the women’s singles crown she seized last year.” The question posed: “Can Billie Jean King stop her?”
It was obvious that she was upset at the Radio Times magazine cover. She still remembers the emotions that coursed through her back then. “I was not happy with this cover. Because they basically said I was finished and I wasn’t finished. In fact, I won that year.” Reminiscing her memories from that ‘perfect’ Wimbledon final, she continued, “One of the best matches for me, I felt actually sorry for Evonne because I won one love, it was the second shortest final ever. And I put it out of my mind. I remember hitting this one backhand cross-court and one backhand down the line. For the whole match I just remember these two shots I remember…Oh, it was perfection.”
She also remembered the moment she received the coveted Venus Rosewater Dish for a sixth time. She described it as the “most beautiful trophy ever. It’s the most beautiful one if you really look, it’s got gold and silver inlay, it’s got the name of the champions in it. So I was looking, ‘Oh, there’s so-and-so. There’s Alice Marble’, there’s all my sheroes and really fantastic.”
Billie Jean King also expressed her feelings over seeing compatriot and ATP icon Arthur Ashe clinching the men’s singles Wimbledon title. “I was thrilled that Arthur and I, two of the Americans, won that year and also for a man of colour and I thought it was great to have him.” Ashe bested another compatriot and legend, Jimmy Connors, in an all-American summit clash on the Centre Court. He eventually won with a score line of 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
Coming back to King, while she disliked the cover in which Evert was featured, she shared an amazing bond with the 18-time slam winner. In fact, Evert has also, time and again, praised King as her role model.
When Evert called Wimbledon queen Billie Jean King a “wonderful friend”
Back in 2023, on the eve of Billie Jean King’s 80th birthday, Chris Evert came up with a heartfelt message. While wishing the former tennis legend, she wrote on X, “Happy Birthday to the most wonderful friend and role model to me and many!@BillieJeanKing you have the energy and passion for life and learning like no other. Love you..”
Their relationship goes even deeper. When Evert recovered from her Ovarian Cancer, she stayed in touch with her best friend and ex-WTA icon Martina Navratilova. Guess who else was on her contact list? Yes, it was none other than King. Even the latter has, time and again, praised Evert and her achievements.
Last year, the Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) announced that the Canfield House facility, housing TeamFAME, would be renamed as Chris Evert Learning Centre. Undoubtedly, the news evoked the feeling of celebration across the tennis community. Taking to her X, King began her post saying, “The @TennisHalloFame has dedicated a building on its grounds to the inimitable @ChrissieEvert for her contributions to grassroots youth tennis and education initiatives.” She then wished Evert and wrote, “Congratulations to our friend on this well deserved honor.”
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