Tennis legend Billie Jean King walked across the graduation stage on Monday, 19 May 2025, earning a bachelor's degree in history from California State University, Los Angeles — more than 60 years after stepping away from campus to pursue a professional tennis career. The 82-year-old icon completed what she had left unfinished in 1964, closing a chapter that had remained open across one of sport's most consequential careers.

A Journey Six Decades in the Making

King originally enrolled at what was then known as Los Angeles State College in 1961. She left in 1964 to focus entirely on tennis — by which point she had already claimed her first Wimbledon doubles title as a student. The decision proved transformative for world sport, even as her degree remained incomplete.

According to reports, King discovered only about a year ago that she was just one year shy of fulfilling her graduation requirements. She resumed studies last year, completing remote coursework in historical research, writing, and historiography — the discipline concerned with how history is interpreted and recorded.

What She Studied in Her Final Semester

In a fitting convergence of personal history and academic subject matter, King spent her final semester studying and writing about movements she had personally helped shape — including Title IX legislation and LGBTQ+ equality. Her academic work, in other words, was also a form of memoir.

A Career That Redefined Women's Sport

King's decision to leave college in 1964 yielded one of the most influential careers in sports history. She went on to win 39 Grand Slam titles — comprising 12 singles crowns, 16 women's doubles titles, and 11 mixed doubles championships. She co-founded the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and was a driving force behind the push for equal prize money in professional tennis.

Her advocacy extended well beyond the court. King's honours include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — recognition of an influence that reshaped both sport and civil rights in the United States.

Graduation Day in Los Angeles

On the day of her graduation in Los Angeles, King wore a gold stole bearing the words 'student athlete' and 'G.O.A.T.' She received her diploma from university president Berenecea Johnson Eanes and, in characteristic fashion, celebrated by hitting tennis balls from the stage to fellow graduates. In a post on X, King wrote: 'It is never, ever, too late to finish what you have started.'

The moment drew wide attention as a statement about lifelong learning — and as the final act of a story that began on a Los Angeles college campus more than six decades ago. For King, whose life has consistently defied convention, graduating at 82 was entirely in character.