Billie Jean King the first of her six singles titles at Wimbledon and the first of twelve Grand Slam singles titles overall, defeating Court in the semifinals 6–3, 6–3 and Maria Bueno in the final. King credited her semifinal victory to her forehand down the line, a new shot in her repertoire. She also said that the strategy for playing Court is, "Simple. Just chip the ball back at her feet." At the U.S. Championships, an ill King was upset by Kerry Melville Reid in the second round. King successfully defended her title at the South African Tennis Championships in 1967, defeating Maria
1974 US Open – Women's Singles 1974 US Open – Women's Singles Reigning champion Margaret Court did not defend her title. Billie Jean King defeated Evonne Goolagong 3–6, 6–3, 7–5 in the final to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1974 US Open. With her loss, Goolagong missed her chance to complete the career Grand Slam. Goolagong would snap Chris Evert's winning streak, at 55 matches in the semi-finals. This was an Open Era record for 10 years until 1984, when it was broken by Martina Navratilova. The seeded players are listed below. Billie Jean King is the champion; others show the round in