"It really is irritating, people love to remind me" - Billie Jean King laments having to deal with ageism as American icon enters Octogenarian years

Billie Jean King recently revealed her struggles with ageism and how people remind her of her age to ask her to stop doing things.

Billie Jean King turned pro in 1968 and retired over two decades later in 1990 with 39 Grand Slam titles. Her legacy in the sport is unmatched. King founded the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and also has a sports stadium named after her, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home to the US Open.

The 80-year-old, however, is regularly reminded of her age. She claimed she suffered from ageism and people ask her to stop doing things because of her age.

“I have to deal with ageism all the time, and it really is irritating. People love to remind me of my age: ‘You can't do this. You can't do that,’” King said in an interview with PEOPLE.

Decades after her retirement from the sport, King continues to work like no one else. She recently launched the Professional Women’s Hockey League. King also revealed that she would be traveling to Paris to attend the Olympic Games with her wife Ilana Kloss.

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Billie Jean King's lobbying 50 years ago helped women earn the same prize money as men at the US Open

Billie Jean King Lights the Empire State Building in Honor of the Women's Sports Foundation's 50th Anniversary.

Billie Jean King has been an advocate of equal pay and equal rights from the early days of her career. She lobbied to earn the same amount of prize money as men and achieved the feat in 1973 for the first time.

“We started in 1973 at the US Open, we got equal prize money, which is huge,” King said in the interview with PEOPLE.

Margaret Court won the 1973 US Open. A year before, King won the tournament and earned $15,000 less than her male counterpart. She proudly spoke of the amount earned by the winners last year.

“At last year’s US Open Coco Gauff got $3 million—and so did Novak Djokovic,” she added.

While King has always had the business side of the sport in mind, that never conflicted with her playing career. She was one of the greatest tennis players to ever grace the court.

King's achievements speak for themselves. Out of her 39 Grand Slam titles, 12 were in singles, 16 were in women's doubles, and 11 were in mixed doubles. A 29-year-old King even defeated 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match.

Today, at 80, King continues to advocate for the rights she believes in and enjoys the sport she played for years.