Billie Jean King poses with "forever friend" Martina Navratilova at French Open 2023
Billie Jean King shared a glimpse into her time at the 2023 French Open as she posed with long-time friend Martina Navratilova on Day 7 of the tournament.
On Saturday, June 3, the women's matches on Day 7 of the French Open saw an exciting passage of play with top seeds Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Ons Jabeur in action. Defending champion Swiatek advanced to the fourth round in commanding fashion after defeating Wang Xinyu 6-0, 6-0 in just 51 minutes.
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur both fought back from a set down against Mirra Andreeva and Olga Danilovic, respectively, to book their spots in the fourth round.
On the other hand, Elena Rybakina's withdrawal allowed Sara Sorribes Tormo to progress to the next round, where she will face Beatriz Haddad Maia, who defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Lesia Tsurenko, meanwhile, eased past Bianca Andreescu 6-1, 6-1 to find a place in the Round of 16. Bernarda Pera and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova also advanced after straight-sets wins.
Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, both in attendance at the French Open on Day 7, took the time to get a picture clicked together.
King shared the photo on social media.
"Forever friends," King captioned the post on Instagram.
A brief look at Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King's records at French Open
Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King have both enjoyed success at the French Open. Two of Navratilova's 18 Grand Slam titles came at Roland Garros. She won her first title in 1982 after defeating Andrea Jaeger in the final in straight sets, winning 7-6(6), 6-1 to record her fourth Major title overall.
The former World No. 1 won her second title at the 1984 French Open, after defeating defending champion Chris Evert 6-3, 6-1 in the final, marking her ninth Grand Slam title overall. In doing so, Navratilova also completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam, which was dubbed the 'Martina Slam' as she become only the second woman behind Margaret Court in 1970, to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.
Martina Navratilova was unable to defend her title in 1985 as Evert defeated the Czech-American 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 in a rematch of the previous year's final. Navratilova reached the finals in Paris in 1986 and 1987 as well, losing to Chris Evert and Steffi Graf, respectively.
Billie Jean King won her solitary Roland Garros title in 1972 after beating defending champion Evonne Goolagong 6-3, 6-3 in the final. With her win, the American completed her career Grand Slam. She retired with 12 Major singles titles, 16 women's doubles titles, and 11 mixed doubles titles to her name.