The Center for Women’s History new installation considers how King—and the Williams sisters a generation later—opened doors and created new opportunities by channeling their own celebrity power.

On the heels of her “Battle of the Sexes” victory, Billie Jean King made history: Sports Illustrated named her the first female “Sportsperson of the Year” in 1972. King may have been the first to break gender barriers—winning unprecedented endorsements, awards, and prizes—but she didn’t want to be the last to do so. Instead, she imagined a world where female athletes were defined by their achievements rather than their gender.

The Center for Women’s History new installation considers how King—and the Williams sisters a generation later—opened doors and created new opportunities by channeling their own celebrity power. King used her own prize money to establish the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF), an organization dedicated to providing girls and women with equipment, training programs, and scholarships, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. When Venus and Serena Williams took the tennis world by storm, they were part of a generation of female athletes, coaches, and sports professionals who benefited from King’s vision and continued to expand upon it.

The installation includes objects displayed for the first time, such as a tennis dress designed for Venus Williams by Diane von Furstenberg, a T-shirt embellished with Swarovski crystals and designed by Serena Williams, and a statue given to King alongside the prize money that she used to establish the WSF.

Exhibitions at New-York Historical are made possible by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.