A King among men

Among the many bonuses that summer brings to Newport-Mesa is the

short season of World TeamTennis and Newport’s own Breakers.

It isn’t only because we get to see world-class players in our

backyard -- though we aren’t complaining about that. It’s that, like

so many other good causes in the community, the Breakers do more than

what they have to. Like the best tennis players, their game is

complete.

We all were reminded of that last week when one of the game’s

great ambassadors, Billie Jean King, passed through town. The

co-founder of the tour and co-owner of the Breakers, King summed up

the tour -- and her own rich life -- nicely when she recalled: “At

the end of my first lesson, at age 11, I decided I wanted to be the

No. 1 tennis player. At 12, I had an epiphany that I wanted to change

the world.”

Over the years, she’s managed to accomplish both and continues to

make the world a better place. Once again this summer, for instance,

the tour will be handing out tennis rackets to children to encourage

their participation. That is King’s legacy.

King also had a good reminder for us all: “Really, try to become

part of the community and give back. And give back more than you

receive. Most of us here are more fortunate than 99% of the world.”