‘I’m going to tell the truth. Screw this!’ Billie Jean King at 82 on coming out, tearing up tennis – and her one big regret

Billie Jean King, 82, former world No 1 tennis player and pioneer of equal prize money in women's tennis, has given an extensive interview to The Guardian reflecting on her life, career, and coming out publicly. King, who is married to former tennis player Ilana Kloss, graduated college this year and remains actively engaged in sports advocacy. She traces her introduction to tennis back to age 11 in Long Beach, California, when a classmate named Susan Williams first described the sport to her.