Billie Jean King the match proved to her that she was "good enough to be the best in the world. I'm going to win Wimbledon next year." She won six tournaments during the year. For the first time in 81 years, the annual convention of the United States Lawn Tennis Association overruled its ranking committee's recommendation to award her the sole U.S. No. 1 position and voted 59,810 to 40,966 to rank Nancy Richey Gunter and King as co-U.S. No. 1. Six of King's Grand Slam singles titles were at Wimbledon, four were at the U.S. Championships/Open, one was at the French Open,
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center All 33 courts have used the DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface since the facility was built in 1978. Near Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, and LaGuardia Airport, the tennis center is open to the public for play except during the US Open, junior and wood-racquet competitions. Formerly called the USTA National Tennis Center, the facility was rededicated for Billie Jean King on August 28, 2006. The idea of the tennis center came about in January 1977, when William Hester, the then-incoming president of the USTA, saw the underused Singer Bowl on a flight into nearby LaGuardia Airport. He