WATCH: ‘Thrill and Privilege’ Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King renew their rivalry as they hit the court once again
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Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King
Tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King were back on the court once again and traded a few shots from either side of the net giving tennis fans another tease of the great rivalry and friendship the two former World No. 1 and multiple-time Grand Slam champions had for one another.
The two Hall of Famers are often spotted at various tennis events, mostly in Grand Slams where the two champions are honoured for their achievements and treated to the best seats in the house to see the next generations continue their legacy. The various record holders recently met for an event and with a tennis court available, did not miss the opportunity to trade a few volleys.
While Martina looked all geared up like her playing days, King was in a non-sporting outfit but that did not stop the American to exchange a few shots with her old on-court rival. In a 15-second clipping shared by King through her official Twitter handle which was captioned, “What a thrill and privilege to hit a few balls with @Martina”, the two players could be seen playing with King hitting one well wide of Martina as the lucky on-lookers enjoyed the moment. BJK later uploaded a photo as well captioning it, “So much fun yesterday.”
Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King’s rivalry
The two compatriots met 14 times on the Tour. Martina was the more successful win with 9 wins to her name while BJK won 5 matches. They first met in the quarter-finals in Atlanta in 1977 with King winning the match and she also went on to win the next two to take a 3-0 lead. Their first of the three finals came in Houston in 1978 where Martina won the match, her first win against King.
Martina then went on to level the head-to-head at 3-3 including a win in the finals in Houston in 1978 to defeat King in back-to-back finals. King’s only win in finals against Martina came in Houston in 1980 by when the head-to-head was at 5-5. Martina then went on to win all 4 of their meetings post the finals in Houston, including the quarter-final in 1980 Wimbledon, their only meeting in a Grand Slam.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)