Billie Jean King’s Wellness Practices at Age 79

50 years later at age 79, King still has lots happening. She’s an investor in a growing list of sports teams and leagues, including the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the forthcoming Skilled Women’s Hockey League. She still serves on the board of the influential Women’s Sports Foundation, which she founded in 1974. She recently launched a production company geared toward telling the stories of other game-changers like herself. And he or she’s a spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company Moderna, championing the importance of vaccination and other preventative health measures.

With all this and more keeping her busy with near-constant travel and engagements, Billie Jean King’s wellness practices are essential. And it’s greater than just being up-to-date on her vaccines—though that’s key, too. King makes a degree to maneuver her body commonly, and even rediscovered her love for taking part in tennis recently. Here, she shares the wellness practices that keep her going.

Why she’s captivated with getting vaccinated

King strongly consider in specializing in prevention and keeping our bodies healthy in the primary place. “That is one time we might help ourselves,” she says. “It’s necessary to seek the advice of together with your doctor, but I’m big on it—I believe I even have six COVID vaccinations now. I’m as much as steam. Especially since I’m older. I don’t feel old, but I’m older.”

The wellness lesson she learned from her mom

“I remember my mom, when she was in her early 80s, saying, Billie, keep moving, or it’s over,” says King. “She was absolutely correct. She would force herself to maneuver—she began going to the gym, and lifting weights and doing stuff she’d never done.”

King says her mother had at all times been a extremely good swimmer, regardless that she never talked about it. “It was at all times about my dad’s prowess in sports, but my mother told me much later in life how she used to beat the boys running, and bodysurf 15-foot waves,” King says. “She was really brave when she was younger, and she or he kept pushing herself; she’d go to bop classes. Dancing is fun, but I don’t do this—I probably should start doing that. Whatever works—it’s about moving, and doing the most effective you’ll be able to.”

How she got back into tennis

Throughout the pandemic, King’s wife, fellow former tennis pro Ilana Kloss, suggested they hit a ball around to remain busy. “Once I hit one ball, I used to be off and running,” says King. Now, she’s back to playing tennis not less than 3 times per week.

“It’s modified my life,” she says. “I’m a lot happier—I look ahead to it. Actually, I don’t look ahead to it sometimes. It’s loads of work. But once it’s over I’m so glad I did it. It’s a lot fun to feel the ball against the strings; it’s really magical for me and it at all times has been since I used to be 11 years old. I believe that helps me stay young.”

“It is so much fun to feel the ball against the strings; it’s really magical for me.” —Billie Jean King

She says that playing tennis commonly also helps her emotionally and mentally. “One thing we are inclined to do as we age is say, I don’t want to try this, it takes an excessive amount of effort. But I even have to push myself. I’m trying my guts out. I can’t run greater than, like, three feet—I’ve had so many knee operations—but I’m trying so hard.”

How she prioritizes sleep

Instagram can have you suspect that having a “wellness routine” means going to bed early and waking up early, but King begs to differ. She’s not stingy about sleep—she gets not less than eight hours an evening—but she prioritizes it in a way that works for her. That typically means staying up until 1 am and sleeping in until 9.

“I attempt to move all the things back and begin later,” she says. “I do my best considering when it’s quiet at night.”

How she’s empowering the subsequent generation of advocates

Billie Jean King’s wellness practices also include her advocacy. As a really young tennis player, King realized how much inequality existed in her sport. “I didn’t know the word ‘platform’ in those days, but that’s what I used to be visualizing, that perhaps any person would take heed to me. Possibly I could make the world a greater place through sports,” she says. “Each generation has to fight really hard.”

She believes that now could be the time for her to support the younger generation in order that they will lead the fight. “I keep telling athletes that they need to know the business, because most individuals don’t,” she says. “We’ve got to be sure that we’ve got not only a seat on the table, but a voice and a vote.”