This is the inside of how in the ’70s and ’80s a cast of unapologetic mavericks revolutionised the tranquil world of tennis. Geniuses on the court, they were superstars off it. At a time when sport was embracing historic cultural change the spotlight fell on Wimbledon. Gods of Tennis I, BBC 2023
Billie Jean King had been fighting for gender equality in tennis. ibid.
Arthur [Ashe] was up against his adversary, the volatile hot favourite Jimmy Connors. ibid.
‘Rod Laver won £200 and I won £750. I thought we’d get the same.’ ibid. Billie Jean King re Wimbledon
‘What I said was that women don’t deserve the same amount of prize money as men.’ ibid. Arthur Ashe
Chris [Evert] lost her first Wimbledon final but her calculated game play marked her as a serious threat to Billy Jean’s dominance. ibid.
Chris’s popularity was at an all-time high. ibid.
In one extraordinary weekend, Billy Jean King and Arthur Ashe had help advance social change on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon. ibid.
‘Borg was sex personified. The guy was unbelievable.’ Gods of Tennis II, dude
‘If I haven’t been as good as I was, no-one would have given a damn.’ ibid. McEnroe
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg were the pin-ups in an exciting new era of 80s tennis and the nation was besotted. ibid.
Bjorn became the first man in the modern era to win five consecutive Wimbledon titles. ibid.
The 1981 Wimbledon Championship was notoriously bad tempered even by John’s standards. ibid.
Born in Czechoslovakia but now flying the flag for the United States, Martina Navratilova was one match away from becoming the most successful singles player in Wimbledon history. Gods of Tennis s1e3
She had landed at a time when the women’s game was booming. ibid.
By 1978, 23-year-old Chris [Evert] had already won two Wimbledon titles. ibid.
Between 1982 and 1987 Martina won six Wimbledon titles. ibid.
2012: I’m a couple of hours away from the biggest match of my career. The biggest match of my life. I was just curled up in a ball trying desperately to figure out a way to just stop having these thoughts. And I’m about to play the greatest player of all time. Untold: Breaking Point, Mardy Fish, Netflix 2021
The Roddicks were nice enough to say you can live with us. ibid.