She switched from softball to tennis at age 11, because her parents suggested she should find a more 'ladylike' sport. She saved her own money, $8, to buy her first racket. She learned tennis on the many free public courts in Long Beach, taking advantage of the free lessons tennis professional Clyde Walker offered at those courts. One of the city's tennis facilities has subsequently been named the Billie Jean Moffitt King Tennis Center. As a kid playing in her first tennis tournaments, she was often hindered by her aggressive playing style. Bob Martin, sportswriter for the Long Beach, "Press-Telegram" wrote about her success in a weekly tennis column. One of King's first conflicts with the tennis establishments and status-quo came in her youth, when she was forbidden from being in a group picture at a tournament because she was wearing tennis shorts (sewn by her mother) instead of the usual white tennis dress.