King is also a nine-time Federation Cup captain, and led the U.S. women to the title in 1976, 1996, 1999 and 2000. She played on nine Fed Cup teams and ranks fourth on the competition’s all-time victory list with a 52-4 record. This year, King has led the 2003 Fed Cup team to a semi-final match against Belgium at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Nov. 19-20. U.S. women Lisa Raymond, Meghann Shaughnessy, Alexandra Stevenson and Navratilova will take on Belgians Els Callens, Caroline Maes, Elke Clijsters and Kirsten Flipkens for a spot in the final on Nov. 22-23.

We caught up with Captain King to talk about the Fed Cup team, the Williams sisters and her upcoming guest appearance on Law & Order.

Q1: How do you feel about returning for the ninth time as U.S. Fed Cup captain?

BILLIE JEAN KING: It's a real thrill for me to be the captain again for this great team. I'm very excited. What's really exciting this time is our players are really psyched -- Shaughnessy, Raymond, Stevenson and Navratilova. Probably Raymond will get the chance to play singles for the first time in her life, in her Fed Cup history. I know through e-mails and talking to her on the phone she is absolutely raring to go. And Martina Navratilova, only a young 47 year-old player, is back with us because of how well she is playing doubles right now on the WTA Tour.

Q2: With such a strong squad, do you think the U.S. team is capable not just of beating Belgium, but maybe of beating Russia or France in the final?

BILLIE JEAN KING: I think this team is capable of winning the whole thing, bringing the Cup back to the United States. Let's face it, because [top-ranked Belgians Kim] Clijsters and [Justine] Henin-Hardenne are not playing, it makes a big difference. In fact, I was trying to look at our head-to-heads and the only player that either Stevenson or Raymond or Shaughnessy has played is Callens. Raymond leads 3 to 1 and Shaughnessy is up 1-0 and Stevenson is tied 1-1 [against Callens]. This is going to be very interesting to see how this plays out. I just think we have such a great chemistry on our team because of the different age groups. We also have our support team going over to Moscow. We have such a great group now, and it makes a huge difference psychologically. We have our hitting partners in line.

Our job right now is not to think about France or Russia…first we have to get through the semi-finals, and if you know my philosophy on life -- "One ball at a time." So, I don't like to look ahead, but to answer your question, I think we're capable of beating anybody who is in the Fed Cup this time.

Q3: Describe the thrill of having Martina Navratilova on the team and how you recruited her.

BILLIE JEAN KING: First of all, she asked me, but I told her I look at everybody. But I told her, "Don't worry, I've been thinking about you." What I did do is talk to Lisa Raymond directly on the phone about who she would want to play. Her first choice, obviously, was Lindsay (Davenport), but Lindsay is having a foot operation. And she said, "If Lindsay cannot play, then Martina would be my first choice." She is the third top American in women's doubles in the world. Lisa is No. 1, Lindsay is second and then Martina. So Martina definitely fit the bill and she's earned it. I really do stick to these rankings with these top women. I think it's always been a much more healthier, easier way to do it.

It's very exciting. You have Stevenson who is in her low 20’s to Martina who is 47 -- the chemistry is going to be great. I have never seen so much correspondence as I have with this team, so that's usually a good sign that they're thinking about it and that they're really into it. But Lisa Raymond was a very big part of the process…and I wanted to make sure we had a strong doubles team. I think Martina, with her experience and her motivation and her discipline, she'll be hopping around and ready to go.

Q4: Do you think the other players will come up to Martina and pick her brain?

BILLIE JEAN KING: If I were them, I would. I used to pick all the older players' brains. I just loved talking to the older players. They have so much history. I know the players really respect Martina. I think when she came back on the tour in the beginning, they didn't. But they sure do now. And I also think that the public is really caught up with Martina and really appreciates what a great athlete she is and all that she has done for the sport.

Q5: Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world right now on the WTA tour. What would it take for American fans to get behind the Belgians or does it take an American to fuel that interest?

BILLIE JEAN KING: In America, you need to be American. Like Andy Roddick winning the U.S. Open -- it's keeping us alive, which is fantastic. He's a great guy. He's a great team player in life, that's why I love him so much. He really is wonderful. But, no, you have to usually be an American. When an American asks me, "How's tennis?" what they're really asking me is, “How is American tennis?” Right now, Russian women, they've got ten in the top 54. They're really the coming ones. The reason that happened is because of [Anna] Kournikova. They all want to be a star like her. She really started that evolution, that revolution for them to want to get into tennis.

Q6: Do Venus and Serena Williams have that same kind of impact in America?

BILLIE JEAN KING: They have. The biggest percentage of people who are interested in our sport and want to play are African Americans. And if you listen to young people and you say, "Who do you like?" No matter what culture they're from – girls and boys of all colors -- they'll say, "Oh, I love Venus" or, "I love Serena." My niece, who is white, she went as Venus and her friend went as Serena or vice versa to a Halloween party two years ago. So [Venus and Serena] cross over every boundary and they bring everybody together and it's great. And I think we should all have heroes and heroines and “she-roes” that are of all colors or religious or whatever, it shouldn't get down to just somebody that looks like you.

Q7: Any opinion on when the Williams sisters will start playing again?

BILLIE JEAN KING: I think next year. Venus has continued to have trouble with that abdominal pull on the left side. When I did talk to her she said she was upset because she wanted to play so badly. And she said, "When I go out to practice, something's just not right." I keep telling her to wait. Serena, of course, you knew would not be able to play because she had that type of knee operation. It's the tendon that connects all your quad muscles and that's naturally huge. I think it's more important for them to get well and start off next year -- if they want to play and hopefully they'll want to -- and to have a healthy 2004.

Serena’s also doing a Showtime [drama]. She did a good job. They have a lot of interests and Venus is busy doing designing. Can you keep their interest and focus long enough to play tennis? I hope so, because it has given them the medium and the expression to springboard, to go into all these other things. They are known because of tennis. That's why the media is so important. No one would know what we think or what we feel or even what we do without the media and I think sometimes players forget that. The first time I had a press conference there were two media people there in Long Beach, Calif., I'll never forget it. Of course, now you sit and you have microphones sitting in front of them…and every time I see that I get a thrill.

Q8: Why is it so important to you to promote tennis in the United States and to have that media attention?

BILLIE JEAN KING: I'm very big on people knowing about tennis. I don't want us to be a small sport. John Hopkins [University] just came out with new research -- I'm not specific on this so don't hold me to this -- but over the last 20 to 30 years they did this research and tennis came out the No. 1 sport. And I believe it. I'm going to be 60 this year, and I'm telling you, this is the greatest sport in the world. First of all, you have to keep moving. It's so healthy and it's also emotionally very therapeutic. It's an unbelievable sport at any age. If you look at senior tennis players, they are in the best shape, the ones who truly play all the time. I'm telling you it's the best. And you really appreciate it as you get older, the fact that it keeps you healthy. It's really a privilege to play.

Q9: You've been heavily involved in efforts to revive WUSA [Women’s United Soccer Association]. Are you fairly confident that it will return in some form?

BILLIE JEAN KING: Things are happening. Everything is in flux right now. We're looking at different formats, talking to different sponsors. I mean, things are flying. We're really trying to help and being supportive because [WUSA] needs to continue. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and we need for little girls to have that dream as well as little boys. Yes, I think it will return in some form. I would consider it a local, regional promotion, not national promotion -- yet. There are a lot of things that contribute to that. It's a very tough thing to start a new league and you have to run a very, very tight ship and do it right from a business point of view. Like World Team Tennis, we have 11 cities. To me, we don't have a huge national presence, but we have a very strong local, regional presence where our teams are. And we’re going into our 24th season next summer.

Q10: So, finally…How did your acting part on Law & Order come about?

BILLIE JEAN KING: Well, I just had a surprise party at the Women's Sports Foundation, which I founded in 1974. And then the next night, which is our annual [Women’s Sports Foundation] dinner, [actors] Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterson came up on stage and said, "We've declared that Billie Jean King will be a judge on one of our episodes." And they brought me up. It's my favorite show…you couldn't have given me a nicer gift because I love that show so much. But now I'm just really nervous because I cannot act at all. I hope I have no lines, like one line. It'll be fun to meet the cast and the producers and the people behind the cameras. That will be the fun part for me.