About Rosie Casals 

Rosie, along with Billie Jean King and “The Original 9” were responsible for

the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) on the principle of

equal opportunity and gender equality leading to a better future. Rosie

won the very first Virginia Slims Tour title and is one of less than a handful

of players who have the distinction of being inducted into the International

Tennis Hall of Fame twice! Women’s tennis paved the way for other

women’s and girl’s sports, including the Women’s Sports Foundation and

Title IX.

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Rosie was ranked as high as #3 in the world, in the top 10 ten of twelve

years; won 12 Grand Slam Doubles titles, including five Wimbledons with

Billie Jean King. She is the Founder of the Love & Love Foundation and the

Latin Tennis Foundation to provide tennis opportunities to underserved

communities, to represent, enhance, and provide equal opportunity to

Latin tennis players of all ages.

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Larry and Rosie have known each other for nearly 50 years! They first met

when Larry, as a broadcast student at Sam Houston State University,

interviewed Rosie at the Virginia Slims/Houston tour stop shortly after the

historic “Battle of the Sexes match with Billie Jean King and the late Bobby

Riggs. A year later, Larry, as a member of the Houston Tennis Umpires

Association, was assigned as a line judge to call her match. The association

blossomed into a working relationship when Larry left Texas and relocated

to Los Angeles after graduating. It was then that Rosie, and then manager,

Shari Barman, gave him his first job in the “City of Angels.”