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On 20 September 1973, in front of more than 30,000 people at the Houston Astrodome and a television audience of millions, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 in the match billed as the Battle of the Sexes. She won 39 Grand Slam titles, helped found the Women’s Tennis Association, and in 1981 was publicly outed when a former partner sued her for palimony. Her books follow that life from the court to the boardroom, and the longest of them, All In (2021), tells all of it in her own words. This guide covers her 3 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 3 key books · 1982–2021 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Billie Jean King’s three key books are Billie Jean (1982), written with Frank Deford; Pressure Is a Privilege (2008); and All In (2021), her full autobiography. Start with All In; read on for the earlier books and how they differ.
Where to Start with Billie Jean King
If you want her whole life story
→ All In (2021) — the 2021 autobiography.
If you want the Battle of the Sexes
→ Pressure Is a Privilege (2008) — the match and what she learned from it.
If you want the 1980s account, written close to the events
→ Billie Jean (1982).
3 Billie Jean King Books, in Order
Billie Jean
Her second autobiography, written with the Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford and published in Britain as The Autobiography of Billie Jean King. It appeared in 1982, eight years after her first autobiography and the year after a palimony lawsuit by her former partner Marilyn Barnett made their relationship public.
Pressure Is a Privilege
A short book written with the sportswriter Christine Brennan, published 35 years after the Battle of the Sexes. King uses the match against Bobby Riggs, and the preparation for it, as the frame for lessons about pressure, leadership and preparation.
All In
Her full life story, written with the journalists Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers and published by Knopf on 17 August 2021. It runs from discovering tennis at the age of ten through her 39 Grand Slam titles and the Battle of the Sexes to her marriage to Larry King, her activism, the founding of the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation, her health problems and eating disorder, and being outed by a former lover.
In What Order to Read Billie Jean King
The books do not depend on each other, so you can read by interest. All In is the complete account and the only one written with the whole career behind her; the earlier books cover parts of the same story. She also wrote a history of women’s tennis with Cynthia Starr, We Have Come a Long Way, and later Trailblazers: The Unmatched Story of Women’s Tennis.
If you read more than one, publication order shows how far she was able to speak openly: the 1982 book was written in the immediate aftermath of the lawsuit, while All In, almost four decades later, tells the story of her sexuality on her own terms.
A reading path
1. All In (2021)
2. Pressure Is a Privilege (2008)
3. Billie Jean (1982)
Everything Else Billie Jean King Published
Beyond the 3 key books: 2 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Early books
2
2 books · 1970–1974
- 1970Tennis to Winan instruction book, written with Kim Chapin
- 1974Billie Jeanher first autobiography, written with Kim Chapin
The years · 1943–2021
Quick facts about Billie Jean King
- Known for
- Winning 39 Grand Slam titles, beating Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes and fighting for equal pay for women in sport
- 1943
- Born in Long Beach, California
- 1966
- First Wimbledon singles title
- 1973
- Beats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes
- 2018
- Marries Ilana Kloss
- 2021
- All In
- Born
- 22 November 1943, Long Beach, California
- Grand Slam titles
- 39: 12 singles, 16 women’s doubles, 11 mixed doubles
- Battle of the Sexes
- Beat Bobby Riggs on 20 September 1973 in Houston
- Founded
- The Women’s Tennis Association, as its first president (1973), and the Women’s Sports Foundation (1974)
- Honours
- Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Fed Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020
- Married
- Ilana Kloss, in 2018
The red mark is 2021: All In, the autobiography that covers her whole life.
How Billie Jean King Writes: Co-written, Direct, About More Than Tennis
All of King’s books on this page are written with a professional writer: Kim Chapin in the 1970s, Frank Deford in 1982, Christine Brennan in 2008, and Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers for All In. The voice is hers, first person and plain, and the books read like someone talking through what happened and what she did next.
Tennis is the setting rather than the subject. Matches are told briefly; the weight goes to the decisions around them: the women-only Virginia Slims tournament in Houston in 1970, the fight for equal prize money, the WTA, agreeing to play Riggs. Pressure Is a Privilege turns that into a short book of lessons.
The biggest difference between the early books and All In is candour about her private life. In All In she writes about being outed and her long effort to come to terms with her sexuality, which the books written during her playing career did not.
Watch
Billie Jean King on All In
Billie Jean King talks to ABC’s Good Morning America in 2021 about her autobiography All In.
Frequently asked questions about Billie Jean King’s books
How many books has Billie Jean King written?
Five books for adults are listed on this page: three key books, Billie Jean (1982), Pressure Is a Privilege (2008) and All In (2021), plus two early books, Tennis to Win (1970) and her first autobiography, Billie Jean (1974). With Cynthia Starr she also wrote two histories of women’s tennis, We Have Come a Long Way and Trailblazers: The Unmatched Story of Women’s Tennis.
What are Billie Jean King’s books in order?
Tennis to Win (1970), Billie Jean (1974), Billie Jean with Frank Deford (1982), Pressure Is a Privilege (2008) and All In (2021).
Where should I start with Billie Jean King?
With All In (2021). It is the only book that covers her whole life, from discovering tennis as a child to her activism and private life.
What is Billie Jean King’s most famous book?
All In: An Autobiography (2021), published by Knopf and written with Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers.
Did Billie Jean King write All In herself?
It is written in her voice and credited to her “with Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers”, two journalists who worked on it with her. Each of her books listed here has a named co-writer.
Does All In cover the 1981 lawsuit?
Yes. In 1981 her former partner Marilyn Barnett filed a palimony lawsuit that made their relationship public while King was still married to Larry King. All In describes being outed by a former lover and her effort, over many years, to come to terms with her sexuality.
Is there a film about Billie Jean King?
Yes. Battle of the Sexes (2017) stars Emma Stone as King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs. It covers the period around the 1973 match, which Pressure Is a Privilege and All In also describe.
Is All In worth reading if you don’t follow tennis?
The book covers her activism, the founding of the WTA and the Women’s Sports Foundation, and her private life as well as her matches, so it does not assume knowledge of tennis.
Is Billie Jean King still alive?
Yes. She was born on 22 November 1943 in Long Beach, California.
Footnotes
- Billie Jean King — Wikipedia
- All In — Kirkus Reviews
- Eight years isn’t enough between the autobiographies of Billie Jean — Sports Illustrated, 1982
- Pressure Is a Privilege — Fortune, 2008
- Tennis legend Billie Jean King puts it all in her new autobiography — NPR, 2021
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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