King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. For three years, she was the U. King is an advocate of gender equality and has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice. She was instrumental in persuading cigarette brand Virginia Slims to sponsor women's tennis in the s and went on to serve on the board of their parent company Philip Morris in the s.
Regarded by many as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] King was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in The Fed Cup Award of Excellence was bestowed on her in She switched from softball to tennis at the age of 11, [ 12 ] because her parents suggested she should find a more 'ladylike' sport.
King's family in Long Beach attended the Church of the Brethren , where the minister was former athlete and two-time Olympic pole-vaulting champion Bob Richards.
One day, when King was 13 or 14, Richards asked her, "What are you going to do with your life? King's French Open win in made her only the fifth woman in tennis history to win the singles titles at all four Grand Slam events, a "career Grand Slam". In women's doubles, only the Australian Open eluded her. King won a record 20 career titles at Wimbledon — six in singles, 10 in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. King played 51 Grand Slam singles events from through , reaching at least the semi-finals in 27 and at least the quarterfinals in 40 of her attempts.
King was the runner-up in six Grand Slam singles events. An indicator of her mental toughness in Grand Slam singles tournaments was her 11—2 career record in deuce third sets, i. In Federation Cup finals, she was on the winning United States team seven times, in , , , and through Her career win—loss record was 52—4.
