It’s 2026, and Billie Jean King is still the coolest girl in the room. When I walk into an unassuming Midtown studio for her photo shoot with adidas, she’s rocking one of the brand’s iconic tracksuits paired with a hoodie underneath. A string of pearls rests between the sweatshirt and jacket (that has her face on it, I might add), and good lord, it’s the flyest thing I’ve seen all week. It’s mid-April, but I make a mental note to re-create the look come fall.
This isn’t the first time the sports legend has influenced me or any girl who has benefited from organized sports and athletics in her lifetime. Perhaps the earliest moment was well before I was even conceived, when she argued in favor of Title IX in 1972 before it became law.
“I told them that sports do the same thing for women as men: It helps us with character, with leadership, and with health,” says Billie Jean of her advocacy during that time. “Title IX is the reason every woman has the opportunity today. Did you get an athletic scholarship?” she asks, flipping the interview on me. We’re sitting at a table in the photo studio, rolling a blue tennis ball back and forth across it. I tell her I did, accomplishing a goal I set for myself when I was a little girl of playing Division I basketball at my dream university. “That’s the reason,” she responds. “They left the word ‘activity’ in [the statute], and it’s the reason we have women’s sports.”
In many ways, so is she. Maybe not as direct as a law, sure, but it’s not hyperbolic to say that the current booming landscape of women’s sports is a direct result of her—both what she accomplished as a player on the court and her advocacy off it.
A major moment was when she defeated self-proclaimed male chauvinist Bobby Riggs in the historic Battle of the Sexes match in 1973. Title IX was still in its infancy, and the future perception of women in sports hung on her shoulders, on this moment. “I had to win,” she says. There was enormous pressure, but that didn’t shake Billie Jean or her mission.
“When we announced it, I remember telling Bobby—I was sitting here; he was sitting there,” she motions, “and I go, ‘Bobby, I’m not Margaret Court—I like pressure.’ He looked at me like he could tell something was different.” Billie Jean, who was 29 at the time, crushed Bobby, who was 55, in straight sets.
During the match, Billie Jean wore her now-iconic blue suede shoes. Today, more than 50 years later, the sneakers still represent that game-changing moment for women’s sports and gender equality as a whole. The impact of that one match is still reverberating throughout women’s athletics, from the sold-out arenas to the millionaires investing in teams to the new heights of visibility, power, and influence. Billie Jean laid the groundwork, and now she’s still thinking about—and doing the work to shape—where women’s sports goes next.
You were basically the first woman to have a signature shoe. How did you feel about that?
Today, people are used to women getting signature shoes, but not in those days. I was the very first one, I think. I told them I wanted a shoe with color instead of just black and white because television was now in color. I said that when I play Bobby, I want to have a color because it shows up. And I love blue. We talked about it, and they got it. I’ve always been indebted to adidas because they have the guts. You had to move heaven and earth for any change in those days, and they did it. Anytime a woman gets a signature shoe, I know it started with adidas and with me. And it makes me happy.
I once read that you said you felt like if you didn’t win, you would send women back 50 years.
Can you imagine what would happen? Ninety million people saw it. This wasn’t a little thing. The Super Bowl [that year] had 53 million. That should give you an idea. It’s still the most-watched tennis match of all time. I had to win.
Did you get to see the impact of the win over Bobby in real time?
It really helped girls to feel stronger, more self-confident. I’ve had women come up to me and say, “I was giving up on life, had no aspirations, but you beating Bobby Riggs, I said to myself, You know, I can do this; I’m going to be happy.” And so they changed. But the men changed, too. They were more reflective.
What do you mean?
They were really interesting. They’re the ones who would cry more. The women are more joyous. The men would go, “You know, I never thought about my daughter until I watched that match. And I want her to have the same as my son—why wouldn’t I? But I hadn’t really thought about it. I realized they really don’t have the same.” They make such a difference when they stick up just as much for the girl as they do the boy. My dad believed in me as much as he did my brother. That was huge. That’s why I think I made it.
How do you want girls and women to feel today when they wear the shoe?
I hope that women feel they can do anything and that they believe in themselves. And just keep going for it and never give up and have dreams for themselves. I’d also like them to know history. The more you know about history, the more you know about yourself. But more importantly, it’s for the future—you can shape the future, and that’s what I want the younger generations to do.
Your dreams for yourself started when you were just a kid. Tell me a little bit about the epiphany you had when you were 12.
I made a promise at 12 that I wanted to change tennis, for it not to be just a country club sport. I wanted everyone to belong. I was at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, and I’d only played a year. I remember sitting there and seeing everybody, and I realized that everybody wore white clothes, played with white balls, and everybody playing was white. I was already upset about [segregation in schools]. It used to get me crazy, and so I sat there and went, “This cannot happen in tennis. This is horrible.” I wanted to change the game.
How did your parents react when you told them what you wanted to do?
I don’t come from tennis at all. My parents worked three jobs—I’m lucky I had two parents. I got in the car and go, “Mommy, Mommy, I know what I’m gonna do with my life.” She’s going, “That’s cute, honey, you have homework.” And I’m like, “No, Mommy, I want to be the number one player in the world.” And she goes, “That’s nice, sweetie.” She’s looking at me like, “Well, we will do everything we can to help you, but do it because you like it and love it.” I said, “Mommy, I love it. I love to hit the ball.” I thought if I could be number one, just maybe I could help the world be a better place.
Were there any players before you who inspired you to want to make these changes?
Althea Gibson was my first shero. I got to see her in person when I was 13. Her biography, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, came out in 1958 and I remember sleeping with it. I read it. I still have two or three [original] copies. I got to meet her and get to know her as a human being, as a friend, and I knew her until the day she died. She was a huge influence. She was also the first Black person to win a major in tennis and the first Black person to play on the LPGA—she did both. She had the whole nine yards. She was fantastic.
Speaking of change, I want to talk about women’s sports today...
My dream is finally coming true. I’m so glad I’m still alive to watch this.
What’s been the most thrilling for you to see?
I think money is very important. The women getting more money with the WNBA made me really happy. People are starting to think of us, women’s sports, as a great investment—and we are. You can make sales on it, you can sell shoes, everything, but they didn’t pay attention to us. Are they now? Starting to. Women can make you money if you just do what you’ve been doing for the guys for over 100 years.
What do you want women athletes today to know about power and platform?
I always tell players to know the business you’re in. Are the other teams making money? Are the people who put up all of the millions and millions of dollars making any money back yet? Go find out now. And I want them to know the history of at least their sport.
You’ve been devoted to progress. How can today’s players keep pushing women’s sports forward?
You don’t always just help your own sport. I’ve helped a lot of different sports, and I hope women athletes will stick together, no matter what sport they’re in. And a lot of guys now are getting behind us, too. If you notice the athletes, they help each other—they wear each other’s shoes or train together sometimes. It’s much healthier, much better than it’s ever been. I want to keep going in that direction. I want everyone to feel they can do it. I’ve always wanted inclusion.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
The Blue Suede Shoe will be available beginning August 24 on adidas.com.
