Billie Jean King, 82, earns a college degree 65 years after starting at Cal State LA

Tennis legend Billie Jean King, left, receives her diploma from California State University, Los Angeles, President Berenecea Johnson Eanes during commencement in Los Angeles, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES — Billie Jean King raised her right arm in triumph. Not for another victory on the tennis court. This time, she was celebrating earning a college degree 65 years after she first took classes.

The 82-year-old sports and equality icon received her bachelor’s of art in history from Cal State Los Angeles on Monday, walking across the stage in hot pink glasses and royal blue sneakers at the Shrine Auditorium with about 6,000 others in the Class of 2026.

“It’s never too late, whatever age you are, whatever your abilities are, go for it if you want it,” she said afterward.

King’s black gown was accented with a gold graduation stole personalized by a friend. One side included her initials and the letters G.0.A.T., referring to greatest of all time. A multi-coloured tennis racket was embroidered on the other side.

“It means a lot more to me than I thought,” she said afterward. “I am so glad I did it. My hope is that one other person will go back to school.”

King announced two years ago that she would work on completing her degree at the school where her bronze statue stands outside the physical education building. She’s the first member of her immediate family to graduate from college, similar to the majority of her fellow graduates. The school has a predominantly Hispanic and Latino student body.

“Being a student-athlete didn’t mean I had a scholarship,” she told the crowd. “Financial support wasn’t available to women in 1961, even though my friends Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith were both scholarship students on the men’s teams at UCLA and USC.”

King committed to working toward equality and inclusion for all.

“We can never understand inclusion unless we’ve been excluded,” she said.

At one point, a screaming baby in the balcony interrupted King.

“Is it that bad?” she asked, as the crowd laughed.

She punctuated her speech with a cry of “Si se puede!” The audience erupted in cheers and applause to the phrase meaning “Yes you can!”

Joined by student athletes and the school mascot, King hit autographed tennis balls into the crowd.

She initially enrolled at the campus five miles east of downtown in 1961, the same year she won the first of her record-tying 20 Wimbledon titles, this one in women’s doubles.

“Things were different then,” she told the students. “Winning a Wimbledon doubles title today is worth close to half a million dollars. In 1961, I think we won a $45 gift voucher to a local store.”

She soon left school to pursue becoming No. 1 in the world, winning 39 major championships, and earning an historic victory over Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes.” King helped establish the current women’s pro tour while pushing for expanded prize money and opportunities for women.

The biggest difference between learning in the ‘60s and today? “It’s so much more virtual,” she said. “Gosh, we had to be in class. I didn’t go all the time, but I loved talking to the professors and I loved learning.”

Despite her many successes on and off the court, King carried a nagging feeling about not earning her degree. She always corrected anyone assembling her biography that stated she had graduated.

“I said, ‘Don’t ever say graduated, I haven’t earned it yet,’” she said. “I was thinking today coming over here for the first time actually they can say I graduated now.”

Would King go for a master’s degree?

“I just turned on the news and there’s Shaq walking across at LSU getting his master’s,” she said. “I just think it’s wonderful to keep learning.”

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Beth Harris, The Associated Press