Tennis is famous for not only the rivalries but some great friendships too. The on-court rivals like Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal, and Chris Evert – Martina Navratilova are great friends off the court. They have been with each other through thick and thin and are the epitomes of sportsmanship. Billie Jean King and Sue Barker also share a great bond as the two have been actively involved in Tennis and share a lot of similarities despite their on-court rivalry. Among the games played between King and Barker, the former leads the count but when it is a matter of friendship and being there for each other, these two keep outweighing each other.
In her latest post on Twitter, King revealed what Barker did to her, interrupting the founder of WTA’s camera moments. The reactions were posted along with the picture which screamed friendship goals.
Sue Barker did not leave Billie Jean King alone
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King posted a picture of her and Barker, which was originally intended to be her own picture. But the legend was photobombed by Barker. King captioned her post,
“Sue Barker knows how to execute a perfect photobomb.” The post was decorated with hashtags, ” #FlashbackFriday #FBF #Wimbledon.” King, who recently celebrated WTA’s 50th anniversary was invited to Wimbledon Championships.Sue Barker knows how to execute a perfect photobomb. #FlashbackFriday #FBF #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/90LFrIREkU
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) July 7, 2023
The winner of the ‘Battle of Sexes’ was honored as one of the Chairman’s special guests at the Grass Slam this year. She, along with members of the ‘Original Nine’ were honored for their invaluable contributions to the game. When King received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ nearly seven months back and Barker revealed that her win in the ‘Battle of Sexes’ is what inspired her to get into professional tennis.
Barker served as the presenter for BBC and also covered? Wimbledon live and excelled in it for nearly 30 years before retiring nearly a year ago. Fans and the Tennis fraternity wanted to hold on to her desperately. BBC even offered an extension of the contract for three years which the French Open champion politely declined, revealing to ‘Daily Mail’ that she planned this moment five years back.
From interviews to emotional posts, the two champions always had each other’s back
When the former presenter of Wimbledon retired, the former world number one penned a heartfelt note to her on Instagram. King wrote, “Sue brought credibility, knowledge, and professionalism to her broadcasting role, and I am looking forward to working with her one more time at Wimbledon. Inspiring generations to follow in her foot steps, Sue?s impact on sports broadcasting will be greatly missed.”
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The 79-year-old even talked about her sexuality with beloved Barker for her documentary, ‘Born to Lead.’ King shared how big a deal it was to identify as a lesbian in the 70s. The twelve Grand Slam singles winner was scared that she wouldn’t have has a tour if she had come out as a Lesbian in those days when the majority of the world was not even aware or heard of the concept.
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The two friends made their way to glory, inspiring each other and the world with their legacy. It is now time for them to sit back, relax and be proud of their achievements as ‘The Swiss Maestro’ said in his recent interview with CNN.
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