Watch: Billie Jean King Celebrates 80th on Court

 By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, November 23, 2023Billie Jean King celebrated her 80th birthday digging in the dirt.The Hall of Famer showed serious skills and impeccable timing playing on clay for her 80th birthday on Wednesday.More: Djokovic's DreamKing, wearing gloves, a move made famous by her fellow Hall of Famer, Cliff Drysdale, who wore a glove on his racquet hand, repeatedly makes the sweet spot sing off both forehand and backhand.Watch the former world No. 1's head and eyes remain riveted on contact point even after she strikes the shot—a quality she shares with Roger Federer.After tennis, Billie Jean shared cake a birthday cake, baked by her niece, with partner Ilana Kloss.Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport]]>

Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.