Tickets for the 25th anniversary celebration of BOOKED for the evening, The Westport Library’s signature fundraiser, will go on sale Monday, July 15, at 10 am, available for purchase on the Library’s BOOKED for the evening landing page.
This year’s event honors tennis legend and social justice pioneer Billie Jean King, who will be appearing in person in the Library’s Trefz Forum on Thursday, September 12.
BOOKED for the evening annually honors an individual whose work reflects the purpose of the Library: to nurture a love of learning and to enhance our understanding of the world. There is perhaps no other figure in the history of sports who has done more to fulfill that mission than King.
The International Tennis Hall of Famer is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, having won an astounding 39 Grand Slam titles, 12 in singles, and finished No. 1 in the world on five occasions. Yet, for her all accomplishments on the court, she is best known today for championing equality and fairness — in sport and in society.
In 1970, King launched the Virginia Slims Tour — the first professional tennis tour for women — and shortly thereafter formed the Women’s Tennis Association, serving as its first president. In that position, she lobbied for equal prize money at the US Open — and succeeded, with the US Open becoming the first major tennis tournament to offer equal prize money to both men and women.
Her victory over Bobby Riggs in the famed Battle of the Sexes match in 1973 remains, to this day, one of the seminal moments in the history of professional sports.
In the ensuing years, King has continued to exercise her voice as a champion for equal rights and gay rights, emerging as one of the world’s most outspoken advocates against discrimination and for fair treatment for all.
Among her many honors, King has been elected to the Women's Sports Hall of Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the National Women's Hall of Fame; had the US Open grounds renamed in her honor; and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Previous BOOKED for the evening award recipients include 2023 guest of honor Laura Linney, the award-winning actress and humanitarian, as well as luminaries such as Tom Brokaw, E.L. Doctorow, Calvin Trillin, Wendy Wasserstein, Pete Hamill, Martin Scorsese, Arthur Mitchell, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Halberstam, Oscar Hijuelos, Adam Gopnik, Will Shortz, Patti Smith, Barry Levinson, Jon Meacham, Nile Rodgers, Lynsey Addario, Ron Chernow, Alan Alda, Justin Paul, Frederic Chiu, Itzhak Perlman, and Shonda Rhimes.
