Time Out New York: So, do you hate men or something?
Billie Jean King: Not at all! I cannot tell you how many men who have daughters come up to me and say thanks. They're the first generation of men from the women's movement. I really wanted to bring people together. I don't like when people pit men against women. In my book, I talk about Bobby [Riggs] a lot. I always stayed in touch with him. I had total respect for him. He died of prostate cancer many years ago, but I still think about him often.

TONY: Who wins the battle of the biographies: you or McEnroe?
Billie Jean King: You have to wait until I do the next book. I'm still looking for an author.

TONY: My girlfriend beats me at everything. Do you have any tips for me to win my own battle of the sexes?
Billie Jean King: [Laughs] Well, usually one or the other partner is more wild and competitive. I myself don't have that killer instinct, but we all love to win. If you really want to win, you put more time in.

TONY: But it sucks getting worked over by a girl!
Billie Jean King: That's because society tells you that! Here's a question I ask: Why do you think we're bitchy? Where did you first hear that? I used to beat guys in practice. Afterward, I tried to save their poor little egos, because I wanted to make sure that they’d practice with me. I’d lie and tell everyone that they had won. Guys have all of these dumb expectations. We don't get that, because no one expects us to win. We start playing down to everyone's expectations.

TONY: Can you believe that they renamed the USTA Tennis Center after you?
Billie Jean King: No! It's like a dream. They never name these things after women. I really would expect it to have been named after some male player or official. Or they would just get sponsorship for it. It just put pressure on me to do something, so let's do GreenSlam [an environmental initiative]. I don't want to reinvent the wheel, but it’s something I feel strongly about. The U.S. Open is going to start their green thing. I'm even going to do a T-shirt. It’s all about doing the little things—I even turn the water off now when I brush my teeth.

TONY: Who’s a bigger sex symbol: you in 1973 or Maria Sharapova today?
Billie Jean King: Oh, please, it’s not even close! Are you kidding me? Back then, Chris Evert was the sex symbol, not me. They looked at me as the feminist, and that was definitely a nasty word. It didn’t help that there weren’t any women sportswriters at the time. Even today, 90 percent of the media is controlled by guys, and it shows. Sex symbol? [Scoffs] I had big lips then and now I have no lips. I guess that I need collagen. The thing about Sharapova is that she wanted to be number one. Although I guess they count for something, looks are secondary.

King reads from her new book, Pressure Is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes, Tue 19 at Borders Columbus Circle.

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