By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — With wit, humor and spirit, tennis legend Billie Jean King on Thursday charmed more than 600 guests at “Booked for the Evening,” a 25th anniversary celebration of the annual fundraising event at the Westport Library.

King, now 80, is known not only for her tennis prowess — winning 39 Grand Slam titles and 20 Wimbledon titles over the course of her career — but for her equal-rights advocacy on behalf of women’s sports and gender equity.

Passage of the federal law Title IX in 1972, King noted, was a first step toward promoting equality in women’s athletics and brought about major changes in subsequent years. King, as a tennis superstar, realized that she had an important platform to use in the fight for women’s rights.

“I made a promise that I would fight for equality for the rest of my life,” she said when asked about her early years in a sport that had little or no recognition of women in the 1950s and ’60s. 

But the changes that King fought for eventually have been realized, winning her recognition for the role she played in those achievements — a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom for advocacy on behalf of women and the LGBTQ community; the U.S. Open grounds in Flushing Meadow, N.Y., now named the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center; being named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and many other honors.

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.”

At the Booked for the Evening event, King was interviewed by Westport resident Chris McKendry, an ESPN commentator who hosts many of the world’s most prominent tennis tournaments, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

The evening was full of surprises, including when another tennis superstar, Chris Evert, joined King and McKendry on the library stage. They reminisced about playing doubles together even though their playing styles clashed: King was trying to get Evert to play at the net and Evert was trying to get King to volley.

King not only promoted women’s tennis, she also worked for women’s equality in other sports, including helping to form a women’s hockey league, Evert said.

King could have won more tournaments and extended her playing career, “but that wasn’t as important to her as promoting for equality,” Evert said. “She has more wisdom than anyone I know.”

King’s wife, Ilana Kloss, also attended the event. The couple has worked together in the fight for women’s rights in sports, but Kloss doesn’t often get recognized for her role, King said.

Other surprises included screening a film, by Westporter Doug Tirola, that chronicled King’s life and was highlighted by tennis greats wishing her well. Among those congratulating King on the Westport Library award were John McEnroe, Stan Smith and James Blake.

Near the end of the evening, King chided library officials for never honoring an athlete at a previous Booked for the Evening event. 

“I think I’m the first sports athlete that you’ve had in the past 25 years,” she said, referring to the 24 prominent people honored at earlier Booked events. They include movie/television producer and Westport resident Shonda Rhimes in 2022 and actress Laura Linney in 2023. Among other past honorees are filmmaker Martin Scorsese, author E.L. Doctorow and Lynsey Addario, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and Westport native.

King was presented with the Booked for the Evening award by William Harmer, the library director, and Fire Chief Nicholas Marsan gave her a fire helmet, in recognition of the fact that King’s father was a firefighter.

NOTE: The Westport Library will not open until 1 p.m. Friday as staff re-assembles the facilities after the “Booked for the Evening” event the previous night.

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Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.