Billie Jean King , 81, Returns to College to Finish Degree She Started in the 1960s: “I Love Goals”

By Suraj Karowa/ ANW November 18, 2025

Tennis legend and equality pioneer Billie Jean King is proving that it’s never too late to finish what you started.

At age 81, the winner of 39 Grand Slam titles and founder of the Women’s Tennis Association has gone back to school. King is completing the history degree she began in the early 1960s at California State University, Los Angeles (then Los Angeles State College), which she abandoned to chase world No. 1 in tennis.
She expects to graduate in May 2026.

“I’m loving the experience. I love reading, I like goals,” King told ANW Sport this week. “In those days, women didn’t have many opportunities on what to major in, but I do love history. That’s how you shape the future.”

King originally left college because becoming the best player in the world and fighting for equal prize money left no time for classes. Back then, even winning Wimbledon paid just $18 a day in expenses.

“Today the WTA Finals champion can make over $5 million,” she laughed. “That gives you an idea of how things have evolved.”
Now taking remote classes to accommodate her packed schedule, King says she’s fascinated by women’s survival strategies through the centuries and the subtle forms of power people wield even under oppression.

The former world No. 1 remains as active as ever. A minority owner of the World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, and NWSL’s Angel City FC, she was also a driving force behind the launch of the Professional Women’s Hockey League in 2024.

“We have billionaires who want to invest in us now, and that is huge,” she said. “Women’s professional sports are going to keep going forward.”

Despite the progress, King is blunt about how far society still has to go.
“We haven’t even had a woman president in the United States yet,” she said. “That’s pathetic. We’ve come a long way, but we have so far to go.”

She continues to campaign for inclusion through partnerships such as her new campaign with e.l.f. Beauty, whose tagline she delivers with trademark punch: “I give an elf about women on the field and in the boardroom.”

Reflecting on exclusion she has faced as a woman and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she added: “I don’t think you can truly understand inclusion until you’ve been excluded.”

Looking ahead to her 82nd birthday on November 22, King has no plans to slow down. She hits tennis balls “all the time” to stay fit, plans to resume piano lessons (her first childhood love), and says mental stimulation from music and schoolwork helps ward off the dementia that has affected family members.

Her message to the next generation remains simple and urgent:
“Be good to each other. Be thoughtful. Make sure you tell people, ‘I see you.’”

With a Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Congressional Gold Medal, and the Fed Cup renamed in her honor, Billie Jean King’s legacy is already immortal.

Yet at 81, she’s still has unfinished business, both in the classroom and in the continuing fight for equality.
As she puts it: “I’m just very thankful every single day I’ve had this life. I know I’m one of the luckiest ones in the world.”