Billie Jean King (R), Coco Gauff (L).Photo:Sarah Stier/Getty; Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Sarah Stier/Getty; Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Greatness recognizes greatness. On the 50th anniversary of equal pay at the US Open,Billie Jean Kingsays watchingCoco Gauffwin the 2023 US Open is “the reason” she and other women athletes advocated for equal compensation in 1973. “Coco winning was just fantastic,” King, 79, tells PEOPLE. “When I see her, she’s the reason we fought so hard 50 years ago....

The tennis star, 79, is now teaming up withe.l.f. and PEOPLEto share a version of the confidence-boostingpep talkshe gave herself before the iconic match. At PEOPLE and e.l.f. SKIN’s"Women Changing the Game"party, thrown in King’s honor on Sept. 20, the iconic athlete emphasized the importance of staying in the present. “Every single day I visualized winning, no matter what was going on,” King explains of her victory-winning mindset. “Stay focused, focused, focused....

Photo: Allen J. Schaben/getty Billie Jean King had the special task of flipping the coin atSuper Bowl 2022. The tennis icon, 78, carried out the honorary coin toss at the big game on Sunday, where she walked on field at SoFi Stadium to kick off the showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. After the referee explained that the Super Bowl 56 logo would be “heads” and the AFC and NFC Championship Team logo would be “tails,” the Rams claimed “tails....

Billie Jean King.Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images As theSupreme Court debates the legality of Mississippi’s ban on abortionsafter 15 weeks of pregnancy — and discusses reversing the universal right to abortion granted inRoe v. Wade—Billie Jean Kingis reflecting on the difficulties she had obtaining an abortion in 1971. The tennis legend, whofirst shared that she had an abortionin a 2018 interview, was 27 and the top-ranked women’s tennis player in the world when she realized she was pregnant after nearly vomiting on the court during a match....

Marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX, tennis legendBillie Jean Kingsat down with Andrea Mitchell onNBC Nightly Newsto discuss the opportunities to make sports more inclusive for women. “When I was 9, I just remember looking out on the field, and my heart sank because for the first time I realized, I’m a girl, I can’t play baseball,” the 87-year-old recalled in the interview airing Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET....

Photo:Stephen Lovekin / Shutterstock Stephen Lovekin / Shutterstock Billie Jean Kingis celebrating 50 years of equal pay for dominant play. “I always look forward, but sometimes it is good to look back and know what that day felt like,” King tells Naugle when asked what the Battle of the Sexes anniversary means to her. “Until we saw some of the match [on ESPN]… you forget how they talked about us women and themselves as well....

Billie Jean King.Photo: Gotham/Getty For 42 years,Billie Jean Kinghas been in love with her former doubles partner Ilana Kloss. The couple “wore each other’s rings for years,” King says, and called themselves “life partners.” But they never married. Not whenElton Johnnudged, offering to sing at the wedding. Not whenJohn McEnroeneedled (“C’mon, Billie Jean … Wrap it up and put a bow on it already!” he told her one night in Las Vegas, one tennis legend to another)....

AfterSerena Williams‘ controversial loss to Japan’sNaomi Osakaat Saturday’s U.S. Open Women’s Final — during which Williams received three violations and confronted the chair umpire, whom she called a “thief” — tennis great Billie Jean King is addressing major factors that she says played a role in how the game transpired: Williams’ gender and race. King, 74, writes inan op-edThe Washington Postpublished Sunday, “The ceiling that women of color face on their path to leadership never felt more impenetrable than it did at the women’s U....

Billie Jean King.Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images Billie Jean King willreceive the Muhammad Ali Legacy Awardat this year’sSports IllustratedAwards. Olympic gold medalist Jessica Mendoza will present the award to King on Tuesday. Past recipients have included John Cena and Colin Kaepernick. King, who holds 39 Grand Slam titles, opens up about the honor inSports Illustrated’s upcoming Dec. 16 issue and discusses her role in the birth of women’s professional tennis....

Billie Jean King.Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Billie Jean King is not only a legend on the tennis court — she’s also fiercely and successfully advocated for gender equality and social justice. “Forty percent of athletes are women, but we only get four percent of the media. Which is shocking. So, nobody knows who we are,” King, 79, told PEOPLE on the red carpet in Florida. “It’s important that we get more positive attention because a lot of times it’s just about our looks....

Tré Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt of Green Day.Photo:Alice Baxley Alice Baxley Green Dayis rocking on. The band will release their 14th studio album,Saviors,on Friday. And even after nearly 40 years onstage, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s punk-rock ethos remains steadfast. “I still try to maintain that kind of spirit about what we do,” the Oakland-based singer, 51, says, “which is just being independent and free to express yourself the way that you want....

Billie Joe Armstrong’s meeting with the lateEddie Van Halenwas more emotional than expected.In a new interview onThe Howard Stern Show, theGreen Dayfrontman opened up about his longtimeVan Halenfandom and recalled meeting the rock icon at one of his shows, describing the memory as a “heavy experience.“Armstrong, 51, said Van Halen was his “favorite band” growing up, revealing that he “cried” upon seeing the rockers perform at age 12 in 1984. “It’s like his guitar playing came from a different place....

Billie Joe Armstrongis taking a stand. TheGreen Dayfrontman, 50, said that he is “renouncing” his citizenship from the United States during a recent concert in London, following theSupreme Court’s ruling to overturnRoe v. Wade. “F— America. I’m f—ing renouncing my citizenship. I’m f—ing coming here,” Armstrong told concertgoers during a show at the London Stadium on Friday, which was part of his band’s Hella Mega tour withFall Out Boyand Weezer....