13. Billy Jean King
Tennis
In the most famous event pitting men against women in sports history, the “Battle of the Sexes” put Billy Jean King up against Bobby Riggs (in the second version of the event, but by far, the most famous). The 29-year-old star originally turned down the challenge, despite Riggs complaining about the women’s game and claiming he could beat the top players of that day despite being in his 50s. After beating Margaret Court in straight sets, King accepted the challenge for part two.
King went into the matchup as the five-time season-end world number one in female tennis, so she was at a different level than anyone Riggs faced. However, his “confidence” led to a $100,000 winner-take-all prize between the former number one and the current one. Roughly 90 million people saw King beat Riggs in straight sets, setting a new standard for women’s tennis and giving life to women in sports, equal pay, and so many equal rights forums that hadn’t had as much push as before.
However, we don’t want to minimize King to one big event, even if it's her most popular and likely her greatest triumph. King won 39 Grand Slam titles, 12 of them in individual competition. She’s won at least one of each of the four majors, making her one of nine women to achieve the “Career Grand Slam.”
King might be the most important female athlete of all time. When you think of iconic female athletes, it won’t take long to get to Billy Jean King. She’s amazing, her tennis dominance was clearly deserving of its own category, but the magnifying glass she put on women’s sports that usually only had some headlines every four years at the Olympics did so much for gender equality in this space.