1972: BILLIE JEAN KING and the Breakaway Tennis Tour | Midweek | Classic BBC Sport | BBC Archive

[@angelwings7930]

I love the way people looked and the fashion.

[@kristine6996]

Billy Jean King thank you. You are an inspiration still. 🪙🎾🪙

[@mariamassey5468]

BJK HAD A FASCINATING LIFE 10/10 ARCHIVE

[@SaltySerial]

In the 1990s I worked in a nursing home, and I supported a resident who had been a competitive tennis player. Her career was cut short when she developed post polio syndrome as a young woman, and lost the use of her legs. She loved watching tennis on TV, but refused to watch men's tennis. She said that the men at her tennis club refused to play her, and said that they were afraid that she'd win!

[@Guitcad1]

Now here's a reporter who is clearly trying to be professional and trying to be objective... and yet every other sentence he's referring to these grown women as "girls." I realize that's how people talked back then and I'm not blaming this individual, but they talked that way because they hadn't really thought about what they were saying and the implications of it. I think it says a lot about how oblivious even the most well-intentioned people can be to the biases we carry around in our heads.

[@willnill7946]

They are girls

[@angelwings7930]

@@willnill7946. They’re women. Adult men aren’t called “boys” except in a joking or affectionate/familiar manner.

[@Tennisisreallyfun]

@@angelwings7930It’s actually very interesting, because as correct as you are in saying that these women and men are indeed that, professional adults, nowadays I see plenty of articles and people online referring to young professionals as “kids” and “boys” and “girls”. It’s more well-intentioned, but the infantilism is almost coming back around in the modern day and I can’t figure out why🤷🏻‍♂️

[@angelwings7930]

@@Tennisisreallyfun I’m not sure why, maybe it’s the younger generations ? Embarrassingly enough they use terms like “adulting”, they’re the likely culprits is my guess.

[@Tennisisreallyfun]

@@angelwings7930 I’m confused, you mean the young players to blame or do you think it’s young people writing those articles and comments? Because I’m going to have to disagree on both. People like Alcaraz, Sinner, Navarro, Swiatek, etc are consummate professionals and I think it’s older people who are referring to them as “kids” when they’re not.

[@GREENTAMBOURINE]

The French tennis player Francoise Durr did indeed get married, in 1975, but she didn’t give up the game as she was considering here, and kept going till 1984.

[@ObservingtheMatrix]

Wow. I didn’t know ppl were giving it up to get into tournaments. Wow!

[@theaylesburycyclist8756]

I thought he was her dad