Billie Jean King celebrates her 80th birthday with wife Ilana Kloss and family, hits the tennis court before cutting homemade cake
Tennis legend Billie Jean King celebrated her 80th birthday in style, joined by her wife Ilana Kloss, and cherished members of her family.
Over the course of her illustrious career, King won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, along with 16 in women's doubles and 11 in mixed doubles, totaling an impressive 39 Major titles. Furthermore, the former World No. 1 revolutionized the landscape of women's tennis by founding the WTA in 1973.
On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Billie Jean King took to social media and shared highlights of her intimate birthday celebrations with her wife, Ilana Kloss, and family members. The American offered a glimpse of her hitting the tennis court before joyfully cutting a cake baked by her niece.
"Tennis followed by cake, baked by my talented niece, @larabeesays, with my wonderful family. Couldn't ask for more. I am so lucky. 80, I'm ready for you," she captioned her Instagram post.
The former World No. 1 also penned a heartfelt message, expressing gratitude for her loved ones and describing her relationship with her wife as the "best gift."
"Today, I am 80 years young. Relationships are everything. I am fortunate to have been surrounded by loved ones all my life. I look forward to each day. Having Ilana by my side is my best gift. Creating opportunities for others makes me so happy. And I'm not done yet!" she captioned her Instagram post.
Billie Jean King receives heartfelt birthday wishes from Coco Gauff and other WTA stars
The WTA shared a touching video tribute honoring Billie Jean King on her 80th birthday. In the video, Coco Gauff extended her best wishes to the 12-time Grand Slam champion and acknowledged King's invaluable contributions to women's tennis.
"Happy birthday Billie Jean King. She fought for prize money, for women’s tennis and what she’s done is incredible. She took a stance on something where the odds were against her and you know if you look at everything that we have today, at all pretty much came from someone like her," Gauff said.
Daria Kasatkina, meanwhile, highlighted the former World No. 1's groundbreaking fight for equal pay, which has led to women's tennis becoming the highest-paid women's sport in the world.
"Because of her, we've got everything we have now. Women's tennis is the most paid women's sport in the world and she took a big part to it so thanks Bille Jean," Kastakina said.
Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, and several other WTA stars also paid tribute to the tennis legend.