WESTPORT — Tennis great and equal-rights trailblazer Billie Jean King will be guest of honor at the Westport Library’s 25th anniversary “Booked for the Evening” event.

King, an International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee and longtime campaigner for women’s and LGBTQ rights, will be honored at the library’s signature fundraiser Thursday, Sept. 12.

She will be interviewed at the event by Chris McKendry, a Westport resident and host for ESPN’s tennis coverage. Tickets will go on sale to the general public in late July, according to library officials.

“Having Billie Jean King as our guest of honor for this milestone 25th anniversary is especially significant,” William Harmer, the library director, said in a statement announcing King’s appearance.

“Her unparalleled achievements and unwavering dedication to equality and justice resonate deeply with the values our library and community,” he added.

King was one of the top tennis players in the 1960s and ’70s, and over the course of her career won 39 Grand Slam titles, 12 of them singles play, and finished No. 1 in the world five times.

She was instrumental in organizing the Virginia Slims Tour, the first professional tennis tour for women, and  the Women’s Tennis Association, becoming its first president. Using her influence, King lobbied successfully for the U.S. Open to become the first Grand Slam tournament to offer equal prize money to men and women players.

The U.S. Open grounds in Flushing Meadow, N.Y., are now named the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the first major sports venue dedicated in a woman’s honor. She also has been elected to National Women’s Hall of Fame, and the International Tennis Federation renamed the Fed Cup, the largest annual global team competition in women’s sports, the Billie Jean King Cup.

In 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her advocacy work on behalf of women and the LGBTQ community, becoming the first female athlete to receive the distinction. 

King is also the author of several books, including “All In: An Autobiography” and “We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women’s Tennis.”

For questions, call the Westport Library at 203-291-4800.