Women’s Tennis’ Best Friend, if Not Capriati’s

The first winner of what is now the Manhattan Beach tournament did more than simply play tennis. First of all, the event was named after her--the Billie Jean King Invitational--and its first home was indoors under modest circumstances in the gym at Long Beach City College in 1971.

Ownership had its privileges, if you could call them that.

“We were helping lay down the court. I even had my mom and dad helping,” King said.

The effort has not changed. King is still working hard, promoting the JPMorgan Chase Open at Manhattan Beach with a series of interviews this week. The U.S. Fed Cup captain had an unwanted appearance in the spotlight earlier this year, when she kicked Jennifer Capriati off the team in April because of a dispute over team rules.

Question: You said that Capriati removed herself from the team twice before the final confrontation. What was her emotional state like during the Fed Cup week?

Answer: She didn’t really lose it. She lost it after I asked her to leave. She just seems in a tough place right now. That’s what people keep saying to me, but I’m not around her every day. I was disappointed and hurt. I know relationships are more important than anything else. But I’m also 58 going on 59, and can look back. I know when I was playing I was pretty maniacal.

Q: What do you think of the suggestion of some that the dominance of Venus and Serena Williams is not good for women’s tennis?

A: It’s great for the game. They used to say that when Chris [Evert] and Martina [Navratilova] were there at the top. Any time you have rivalries, people are very interested in the sport. It always helps promote the sport. We’re so lucky to have what we have in women’s tennis right now.... I think they didn’t really appreciate Martina until now. And now she’s 45 and they’re saying, ‘Look at her. She still can volley. She can do this.’

Q: Have attitudes regarding an all-out effort shifted now that Venus and Serena had a well-played final at Wimbledon?

A: I think it helped a lot. It’s starting to get rid of the stigma. I don’t know how they do it, personally. When Serena publicly said, ‘I want to be No. 1,’ that shifted her emphasis a lot. That was a good sign that there will be more of a separation between the two and the two can really just go at it. I don’t think I could have played against [brother] Randy [Moffitt]. We’ve talked about it. There’s no way we’d want to play against each other. We’re so close. Thank God we’re opposite genders. I would have been crying. I don’t know if I could have played.

Q: Wasn’t it difficult even playing against close friend Rosie Casals?

A: We hated playing each other. It was terrible. I hated playing her. I felt close to Chris. Chris and I talked about it. She said, ‘I cannot be close to you until I’m finished playing competitively.’ I said, ‘OK, that’s fair enough.’

Q: Does it help that the Venus and Serena are being viewed as individuals, not as a unit?

A: I used to talk to them about it. At Fed Cup, I used to never let them stand together in the photos. I kept trying to separate them. As long as you talk to them, they’re very bright and they get it. I told them, ‘I don’t want the media referring to you as the Williams sisters. Each one of you is an individual. Not to say you’re not sisters. I want you to be respected on your own terms.’ They kind of went, ‘Oh, I don’t mind that at all.’

Q: The last time Venus and Serena played Fed Cup was in 1999, shortly after Serena won the U.S. Open. What was the atmosphere like in training that week at Stanford?

A: They’re so connected anyway. They came to the team meeting and tried to sit themselves in a big chair. [laughs.] I remember this one big armchair and them both trying to sit together. They did finally make it. I swear you almost needed Vaseline on both sides. I didn’t know how it was going to work because it was right after the Open. There was a little tension, we thought. I saw how they were and I knew we were golden. They were still very attached, literally, at the hip. It was very sweet.

Q: You’ve been vocal about the potential threat to Title IX.

A: It is under attack.... We’re not supposed to be a free NFL farm system or free NBA farm system for basketball and I don’t think taxpayers should pay for that. Let’s say a parent or primary caregiver has three boys. They’re going to get ticked off because they think the girls are hurting the boys. It’s not true. They need to understand that if they want to spend 100% of their money and scholarships for football, guess what? That means the other guys aren’t going to get what they deserve. But don’t get the have-nots against the have-nots. I just hope men and women will stick together on this.