Billie Jean King Documentary Premieres on Disney+
A new documentary on Billie Jean King, premiering globally on Disney+, chronicles her fight for equal prize money and her landmark 1973 'Battle of the Sexes' victory.
The documentary 'Give Me the Ball!' premieres on Disney+ in the US on November 22 and globally on November 23. Directed by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26 and has since screened at more than 30 festivals, winning multiple audience and jury awards. It is part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, which has produced more than 100 films since 2009. The documentary arrives as tennis continues to confront equality and representation issues in sports media.
King's historic equality achievements
Billie Jean King was a ferocious force in women's tennis from the 1960s onward. She was a vehement but polite advocate for equal rights on prize money. Her advocacy had direct results. In 1971, she became the first woman to earn $100,000 in prize money in a calendar year. The fight continued. After King's 1972 US Open purse was $15,000 less than the men's champion's, the tournament became the first major with equal prize money in 1973.
Her work extended beyond the Grand Slams. She was one of the Original 9 who signed $1 contracts in 1970 to launch the Virginia Slims women's tour, a major commercial revolution in US sports. Her career prize money totalled $1,966,487. The Sundance Institute noted that some of the world's highest-paid athletes are now female tennis players.
The 'battle of the sexes' impact and cultural legacy
Her 1973 victory over Bobby Riggs became a defining moment for women's sports. She beat Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 at the Houston Astrodome on September 20, 1973 before 30,492 spectators and a reported 50 million television viewers. The colossally publicised contest was dramatised in a 2017 film with Emma Stone and Steve Carell. The documentary includes archive footage of the match, including a moment where TV commentator Howard Cosell put his arm around Rosie Casals, a moment described as one of the creepiest in US television history.
LGBTQ+ visibility and personal revelations
The film documents her public coming out and ongoing advocacy. She faced a press conference in the 1980s after her ex-partner Marilyn Barnett sued for 'galimony', revealing her sexuality. King was one of the first female athletes to disclose her homosexuality and champion LGBT rights. The documentary includes personal revelations, such as the fact that her then-husband, Larry King, revealed her abortion in 1972 without consulting her. He is described in the film as a gallantly supportive interviewee.
The film features interviews with Billie Jean King herself, wearing vivid red glasses, along with Serena Williams, Elton John, and Chris Evert. It includes unearthed 1988 footage of King with young Serena and Venus Williams. Archive footage traces her climb to greatness and pop-cultural political importance, including Elton John's 1975 hit Philadelphia Freedom, which honoured her and her World TeamTennis squad. For British viewers, the film features the unmistakable BBC-commentating voice of Dan Maskell.
Billie Jean King's on-court achievements were monumental. She won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 singles, 16 women's doubles, and 11 mixed doubles. She also won a record 20 Wimbledon championships, shared with Martina Navratilova. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Marsha Cooke, ESPN's vice-president and executive producer for originals and 30 for 30, said King 'changed the conversation around who gets to compete, lead and be seen'. The documentary is watchable and engaging, following the style of the earlier Evert and Navratilova documentary. It is presented by sponsor Vyvgart and had an awards-qualifying limited theatrical run this month. The film closes with its global streaming premiere on Disney+ this November.
