Billie Jean King once that if you want to be the best, you must never let anyone, anyone, know what you really feel. You see, she told me, they can't hurt you if they don't know. Concerning the qualities of a champion tennis player, King said, King's friend Elton John wrote the song “Philadelphia Freedom”, a nod to her World TeamTennis team, for King. Released New Year's Day 1975, became a number 1 hit. Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, was an admirer and close friend. Schulz referred to King several times in "Peanuts" and used the comic strip to
Larry King (tennis) public in a "Ms." magazine article. Larry had revealed Billie Jean's abortion without consulting her. In 1976, King invented a smokeless ashtray, called The Clean Air King. Billie Jean became the major owner of World Team Tennis in 1984. Larry and Billie Jean King divorced in 1987. When Larry and Billie Jean lived in San Mateo, California, they became good friends with Charles Schulz, creator of the comic strip "Peanuts", and with his wife, Jean. They played tennis in Schulz's Indoor Hockey Arena in Santa Rosa, California with many other professional tennis players. King and Denis Murphy also founded Roller