Sports icon and equality rights advocate Billie Jean King has been named grand marshal of the 2025 Tournament of Roses, it was announced on Monday.
With 39 Grand Slam tennis titles and 20 career victories at Wimbledon, the 80-year-old Long Beach resident is said to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. She is also a pioneer in the women’s rights and gender equality movements.
Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association 2025 President and Chairman of the Board Ed Morales told the crowd before King was introduced, “We will soon be in the presence of a true legend. Legend, Icon, Greatest of All Time, or GOAT , as they say.”
King said as a child the Rose Parade at her house was a big deal because they looked forward to it every year.
“You have no idea how excited I am to be here today and be the grand marshal for the 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade,” King said during Monday’s announcement.
She joins a host of other athletes who have served as grand marshals, including Olympic champions Laurie Hernandez, Greg Louganis, Janet Evans, Allyson Felix, Carl Lewis and Shannon Miller, as well as golfers Chi-Chi Rodriguez and Arnold Palmer, and Pelé and Henk Aaron.
Morales said the theme of the 2025 tournament is “Best Day Ever,” celebrating life’s special moments and celebrating people through their life’s work, which have created many “Best Days Ever” for others.
In 1971, King became the first female athlete to earn more than $100,000 in prize money, but when she won the 1972 US Open, she was paid $15,000 less than the men’s champion.
This led her to lobby for equal prize money for men and women at the US Open. As a result of her advocacy in 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament where both genders received equal prize money. All four Grand Slams now offer equal prize money to women and men.
King achieved numerous other victories, founded the inclusive World Team Tennis co-ed circuit and established the Women’s Sports Foundation. She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987 and later became the first woman to have a major sporting venue named after her.
In 2009, King received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor, for her advocacy for women and the LGBTQ community.
In 2014, she founded the Billie Jean King Foundation, a nonprofit organization that creates an equitable future through sports, education and activism.
“This quality, an outward-looking person who works to make the world a better place for others, was most important in our selection for a grand marshal,” Morales said.
King will lead the 136th Rose Parade and participate in pregame ceremonies during the 111th Rose Bowl Game.
