Wire report
‘I’m going to tell the truth. Screw this!’ Billie Jean King at 82 on coming out, tearing up tennis – and her one big regret
She was the world No 1, whose fight for equal prize money changed women’s lives. As competitive as ever in her ninth decade, she discusses sexuality, tenacity and what it was like to finally graduate college this year Every day, Billie Jean King tries to come up with a “gratitude list” in her head, identifying the people who have played a part in making her life so fulfilling. On the day we speak, the list includes her nephew and her wife, Ilana Kloss, who like her is a decorated former tennis player. And, as ever, Susan Williams, who was in King’s fifth grade class at school in Long Beach, California, when she was 11 years old. “Do you want to play tennis?” Williams asked one day. “What’s tennis?” King responded. She had always been a sporty child, and her parents, unusually for the time, encouraged her athletic ambitions just as much as they did her brother’s (he later became a major l
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She was the world No 1, whose fight for equal prize money changed women’s lives. As competitive as ever in her ninth decade, she discusses sexuality, tenacity and what it was like to finally graduate college this year Every day, Billie Jean King tries to come up with a “gratitude list” in her head, identifying the people who have played a part in making her life so fulfilling. On the day we speak, the list includes her nephew and her wife, Ilana Kloss, who like her is a decorated former tennis player. And, as ever, Susan Williams, who was in King’s fifth grade class at school in Long Beach, California, when she was 11 years old. “Do you want to play tennis?” Williams asked one day. “What’s tennis?” King responded. She had always been a sporty child, and her parents, unusually for the time, encouraged her athletic ambitions just as much as they did her brother’s (he later became a major l
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According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘I’m going to tell the truth. Screw this!’ Billie Jean King at 82 on coming out, tearing up tennis – and her one big regret, She was the world No 1, whose fight for equal prize money changed women’s lives. As competitive as ever in her ninth decade, she discusses sexuality, tenacity and what it was like to finally graduate college this year Every day, Billie Jean King tries to come up with a “gratitude list” in her head, identifying the people who have played a part in making her life so fulfilling. On the day we speak, the list includes her nephew and her wife, Ilana Kloss, who like her is a decorated former tennis player. And, as ever, Susan Williams, who was in King’s fifth grade class at school in Long Beach, California, when she was 11 years old. “Do you want to play tennis?” Williams asked one day. “What’s tennis?” King responded. She had always been a sporty child, and her parents, unusually for the time, encouraged her athletic ambitions just as much as they did her brother’s (he later became a major l
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Global file for readers following international affairs, institutions, conflict, diplomacy, economics, and cross-border consequences. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-11-09T05:01:00+00:00.
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Primary source: ‘I’m going to tell the truth. Screw this!’ Billie Jean King at 82 on coming out, tearing up tennis – and her one big regret via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- ‘I’m going to tell the truth. Screw this!’ Billie Jean King at 82 on coming out, tearing up tennis – and her one big regretThe Guardian - 2026-11-09T05:01:00+00:00
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