This summary provides an overview of 3 key themes from the document: 1. Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova discussed the importance of the equality message in women's tennis and how the media often focused on their looks, emotions, and weight rather than their athletic skills and analysis of their play. 2. Articles from the 1970s and 1980s portrayed John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova differently, with McEnroe's talent and thoughts being discussed in more depth while Navratilova's emotions and physical appearance received more attention. 3. The document covered the evolution of options and perceptions of female athletes over time, with players like Navratilova helping change attitudes by being

1. ―It's not about the money.
It's about the equality
message,‖ (Billie Jean
King: ‘It’s not about the
money. It’s about the
equality message’, 23
June, 2013).

2. ‖‘I really like the United
States, but that's one
thing I don't like,‘ she
says. ‗Everybody's
crazy about money,‘‖
(Love Conquers All, 14
April, 1975).

3. " Wimbledon is like that. You
have to overcome a lot of
things. They'd write
something nice one day, and
I'd think maybe they like me a
little, and then they'd rip me. I
had to stop reading the
papers,‖ (The Court Belongs
to Chris, 20 Dec., 1976).

4. John McEnroeMartina Navratilova
"In the meantime she played
soccer with boys and ice hockey
in the winter and went to school
like everybody else,‖ (A Straight-
up Cool Martina, 24 Feb, 1975).
1. Treated men and women as if they are different creatures
2. Reported her eating habits and her weight and lots of
descriptions on her looks
3. Focused on Martina‘s emotions on the court
4. Scores of her recent games were reported, but lacked
analysis of her play
"Of her first season in the U.S., she says, ‗My
eyes were wide open then. You know, the big
highways and big cars.‘ Also wide open in those
days was her mouth. She took in pancakes and
Big Macs at such a rate that within two months
she had gained more than 20 pounds,‖ (A
Straight-up Cool Martina, 24 Feb, 1975).
―Some of the weight is gone now, but she
remains a sturdy 5‘7". Her shoulders are broad
and her arms and thighs look powerful. She
has short light-brown hair, as fine as a child's,
and her face is dominated by high, wide
cheekbones and forthright hazel eyes,‖ (A
Straight-up Cool Martina, 24 Feb, 1975).
1. Talked about his success before his professional career in
tennis
2. Only mentioned his outlooks slightly
3. Occasionally brings up his thoughts toward his opponents
4. In-depth report and analysis appear more frequently
―So far, Junior's absolutely horrid on-court nature
has managed to obscure his wonderful talent. A
soccer and basketball player in high school,
McEnroe picked up tennis very quickly. Early on he
was a natural, and his game mirrors that of his
teacher, Palafox—all spins and angles and changes
of pace,‖ (Winning Is No Laughing Matter, 11 Dec.
1978).
―A rarity in today's double-fisted tennis world, McEnroe hits one-
handed from both sides with the racket head held extremely low.
The preparation for each stroke is so casual that often the racket
appears to be falling from his hand as he drills winner after
winner. McEnroe has such a gift for touch, such a delicate feel,
that the ball is seldom out of control. Because of his active, quick
wrists, he also gets away with many late hits, the racket suddenly
flashing out from his shoulder socket as if no arm were needed
as middleman,‖ (Winning Is No Laughing Matter, 11 Dec. 1978).
"So, no, I'm not surprised at all. I don't want to
be surprised. And I don't want to be satisfied. I
mean, it's great to be 19, ranked No. 5 in the
world and playing Davis Cup. But this isn't luck.
I've worked for this. Let's put it this way. I
deserve this, ‖ (Winning Is No Laughing Matter,
11 Dec. 1978).
―She did a lot of howling and arm waving, after
which she slammed her racket to the ground and
lost the last 10 points of the match as the tears
flowed.
‗I'm just not ready psychologically,‘ Navratilova
said,‖ (A Big Home Victory At Last, 15 Sept.,
1975).
―Navratilova is probably the strongest woman in tennis,
stronger even than Court, and she moves deftly, always
following her left-handed serves and ground strokes to the
net and looking to sock away volleys. Her forehand is
lethal, so opponents tend to hit to her backhand, which is
erratic. When she is getting her first serve in, it is difficult
for her foe not to hit a high return that Navratilova swats
with gusto,‖ (Love Conquers All, 14 April, 1975).

5. Suzanne Lenglen, 1922
Mrs. George Wightman, 1924
Carolyn Babcock and Joan Ridley, 1932
Martha Barnett, 1939 Gussie Moran, 1950
Martina Navratilova, 1970 & 1978
Chris Evert, 1976
Tracy Austin, 1981

6. ―Of all the things that have grown out
of the bloodless revolution in
women's affairs that has been going
on for a decade, the most significant
is options. Freedom lies in having
options, and nowhere has the
increase in the number of options for
women been more dramatic than in
sport,‖ (The Court Belongs To Chris,
20 Dec., 1976).
―‘I had the big muscles before they were in,‘ she laughs.
‗Now it's OK. It's OK to be athletes, to go out there and be
strong. There are still plenty of girls out there who are
primping before they play a match, making sure they look
glamorous, but so many of them now are very athletic and
very strong and in-your-face confident, almost arrogant - it's
good to see that,‘‖ (They ripped me up, 28 May, 2006).
"Any woman who wants to
achieve anything has to be
aggressive and tough, but
the press never sees us as
multidimensional. They
don't see the emotions, the
downs...,‖ (Billie Jean King
a perfectionist, New
Mexican).
―King knew that some of the male players were planning
to form a professional organisation. "You are going to
include us, aren't you? she asked. "And they said:
'Absolutely not.' I said OK, but I went back to them more
than once, and some of them said: 'Nobody would even
pay a dime to watch you girls,'" – she pauses –
"'you birds‘,‖(Billie Jean King: ‘It’s not about the money.
It’s about the equality message’, 23 June, 2013).