Groundbreakers Martina Navratilova (left) and Billie Jean King will be on hand at the World Team Tennis Smash Hits benefit exhibition. Both praise the advances for women in sports and for gay rights, but they agree there’s still more to be accomplished. (Photos by Fred & Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA)
Pioneering women King and Navratilova dish on upcoming Atlanta tennis benefit, coming out in sports
WHEN
ELTON
JOHN
AND
BILLIE
JEAN
KING
invite
their
friends
to
play
tennis,
it’s
often
a
marquee
event.
Next
weekend’s
Advanta
World
Team
Tennis
Smash
Hits
benefit
is
no
different.
The
exhibition
boasts
a
strong
lineup
-
the
legendary
Martina
Navratilova;
the
current
top-ranked
American
male
player
Andy
Roddick;
and
former
top
10
player
Anna
Kournikova,
among
others.
King
and
Navratilova
are
not
only
two
of
the
all
time
tennis
greats,
but
women
who
served
as
pioneers
in
the
game.
King
is
the
founder
of
the
Women’s
Tennis
Association,
the
Women’s
Sports
Foundation
and
World
Team
Tennis.
She
will
also
always
be
known
for
her
ability
on
the
court,
as
well
as
her
1973
“Battle
of
the
Sexes”
match
against
Bobby
Riggs,
whom
she
beat
in
a
nationally
televised
broadcast.
Navratilova
holds
the
open
era
record
for
most
singles
titles
and
doubles
titles.
She
retired
from
competition
in
2006,
winning
her
last
doubles
title
at
the
U.S.
Open.
And
of
course,
King,
Navratilova
and
John
also
made
inroads
in
their
fields
by
coming
out
as
gay.
Smash
Hits
is
a
fundraiser
for
the
Elton
John
AIDS
Foundation
and
the
Atlanta
AIDS
Partnership
Fund.
“I
have
a
soft
spot
in
my
heart
for
those
inflicted
with
HIV
and
AIDS,”
King
tells
Southern
Voice.
“I
will
not
rest
until
we
have
a
cure
and
can
put
an
end
to
this
global
crisis.
Events
like
Smash
Hits
are
a
small
step
in
that
direction,
but
we
must
continue
to
take
small
steps
in
this
very
big
direction.”
Now
in
its
16th
year,
the
traveling
benefit
last
took
place
in
Atlanta
in
2000.
The
Smash
Hits
format
includes
two
teams,
one
captained
by
John
and
the
other
by
King,
playing
singles,
doubles
and
mixed
doubles,
preceded
by
a
Celebrity
Battles
of
the
Sexes.
“If
you
have
ever
seen
a
World
Team
Tennis
match,
you
have
seen
my
philosophy
of
life
in
action,”
King
says.
“It
is
men
and
women
competing
on
a
level
playing
field
making
equal
contributions.
World
Team
Tennis
is
by
far
my
proudest
achievement.
It
represents
everything
I
have
stood
for
since
I
was
12
years
old.
WTT
is
a
big
part
of
my
life
today
and
will
continue
to
be.”
KING
AND
NAVRATILOVA
HAVE
BEEN
friends
with
John
since
the
‘70s.
“I
first
met
Elton
a
couple
of
weeks
before
the
King/Riggs
match
in
1973,”
King
says.
“It
was
at
a
party
in
Los
Angeles.
I
was
a
huge
fan
of
Elton’s,
and
he
and
I
were
too
shy
to
introduce
ourselves
to
one
another,
so
Tonty
King,
who
worked
for
Elton,
introduced
us.”
Later,
when
King
went
to
Wimbledon
the
following
year,
there
was
a
note
from
John
waiting
for
her.
“He
came
over
to
the
hotel,
and
we
listened
to
music
in
his
Rolls
Royce,
which
had
28
speakers!”
she
recalls.
“It
was
the
beginning
of
a
lifelong
friendship.”
Navratilova
met
John
a
few
years
later
at
a
concert.
She
laughs
when
assessing
the
pop
star’s
tennis
game.
“I
love
the
look
on
his
face
when
he
hits
a
shot,”
Navratilova
tells
Southern
Voice.
“His
eyes
get
really
big.
It
cracks
me
up.”
She
also
offers
a
more
professional
assessment:
“Great
forehand,
so-so
backhand;
big
first
serve;
but
he
bloops
the
second
one
in,”
she
says,
noting
that
the
part-time
Atlantan
is
very
competitive
on
court.
Navratilova
also
lived
in
Atlanta
when
the
city
had
a
WTT
team.
The
Atlanta
Thunder
were
part
of
the
WTT
pro
league
from
1991-1996,
and
Navratilova
was
on
the
team
in
the
summer
of
1991
and
1992.
“I
remember
it
being
Hotlanta,”
she
says.
“One
of
the
guys
on
my
team,
Marty
Davis,
actually
left
footprints
on
the
court
because
he
sweated
through
his
socks.”
She
also
has
other,
fonder
memories
of
living
here.
“I
had
a
great
time,”
she
says.
“The
crowds
were
good,
and
I
made
some
friends.
I
rented
a
Harley
and
drove
it
around.”
NAVRATILOVA
CAME
OUT
IN
1981
while
she
was
an
active
player.
That
same
year,
King
had
to
come
out
when
former
girlfriend
Marilyn
Barnett
filed
a
palimony
lawsuit
against
her.
These
days,
King
is
candid
about
her
sexual
orientation
and
her
relationship
with
former
tennis
player
Ilana
Kloss.
Yet
only
one
other
female
tennis
star
since
has
come
out
while
playing
-
Amelie
Mauresmo,
who
came
out
as
a
lesbian
almost
10
years
ago.
“The
climate
is
better
for
gay
people,
but
not
that
much
better,”
Navratilova
says.
“We
still
have
a
long
way
to
go.”
On
the
women’s
tour,
Navratilova
says
the
lesbian
players
all
...
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