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
Billie Jean King Betty Moffitt, King's mother, died on February 7, 2014, the day of the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies. Billie Jean was selected to deliver the Northwestern University commencement address on June 16, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. She attended the 75th Golden Globe Awards in 2018 as a guest of Emma Stone. King and her partner Ilana Kloss became minority owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team in September 2018. Margaret Court, who won more Grand Slam titles than anyone, has said that King was "the greatest competitor I've ever known". Chris Evert, winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles,