Billie Jean King Says Dress She Wore for Battle of the Sexes Was B-Dress
Tennis legend Billie Jean King reveals that the dress she wore when she played Bobby Riggs during the Battle of the Sexes match in 1973 was the second choice dress she had. In a column for The Guardian, King reveals, "I knew I would wear that dress only the one time. This was actually the B-dress – the A-dress was beautiful, but it was scratchy and noisy. Both were made by Ted Tinling. He said: “Don’t worry, I have another option,” and I loved it."
King says she knew there was a lot riding on the match as it was a landmark for women's rights and said even former President Obama told her he watched the match. "There was a lot riding on that match – I knew it was about social change, and 90 million people were watching. The fact that I won gave a lot of women self-confidence to ask for a raise at work. When I first met President Obama, he said to me: “I saw that match when I was 12, and I’ll never forget it. It helped me think about how I want to raise my daughters to be strong.”
King also says she does not like it when two players come on court wearing the same outfit "I don’t like it when you see opposing players wearing the same kit; it looks horrible. They don’t think, they just put the clothes on and take the sponsorship cheque. I used to always call my opponent the night before to make sure we wouldn’t look alike. It’s important to the audience, and the audience is everything. I didn’t agree with Serena Williams’ black catsuit being banned [from the French Open] last year either."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/33H32hG
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