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,
1971 US Open – Women's Singles 1971 US Open – Women's Singles Two-time reigning champion Margaret Court did not defend her title. Billie Jean King defeated Rosemary Casals 6–4, 7–6 (5-2) in the final to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 1971 US Open. This tournament was notable for being the first Grand Slam appearance in which Chris Evert competed in the main draw, she made it to the semi-final. She competed in 19 consecutive US Open tournaments until her retirement in 1989. The seeded players are listed below. Billie Jean King is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.