Billie Jean King reflects on the founding of the WTA to CNN, 50 years later

WATCH: Throughout the season, tennis.com is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the WTA Tour.

Billie Jean King went back to where it all began last week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the WTA Tour—and getting the media coverage that she and her peers only dreamed of at that time as she did it.

The all-time great and Hall of Famer recently joined CNN's Christiane Amanpour to look back on this history of women's professional tennis, as a part of the broader celebration surrounding the tour's half-century milestone this year.

In the interview, King recounted "a watershed moment for women's rights," per Amanpour, also known as the meeting that gave birth to the WTA in 1973 at London's Gloucester Hotel on the eve of Wimbledon.

"I always tried to get the men and women together in the late '60s," King said. "The men always said no, so the next best thing was that we had to get together, the women.

"Basically, we all helped each other. I would ask Rosie Casals, Betty Stove, Francoise Durr, 'Each one of you have to deliver two people to this meeting we're going to have,' to see if we can have this association."

Stove, King recalled, eventually played a key role in the tour's founding.

"I said 'Betty,' and I'm laughing, looking up at her, I go, 'You have to stand at the door, and don't let one player out until we either have our union, our association, or we don't,'" King said. "She looks down at me, and she starts laughing, and she says, 'Don't worry.' She went back and put her arms across ... and I could relax.

"I went up to the podium, microphone, and I said, 'Please God, let this happen.' I said to them, 'This is the moment of truth. We have to do this, we have to do this today, and we have to be together' ... to provide the best entertainment and performance to our fans.

"It gave us one voice, and power."

The Dutchwoman was among the nearly 60 former WTA pros of that era who returned to London ahead of Wimbledon to celebrate the tour's five-decade anniversary.

In addition to reflection on the past, King also recently commented on the future of the sport, as the WTA announced that it will be taking steps to further build on the foundation she and her peers laid.

Late last month, the tour announced its plans to modify its season calendar and "create a pathway" towards total equal prize money at all tournaments for men and women by 2027.

“Fifty years after the players found strength in unity, I’m proud the WTA continues to be a global leader focused on providing opportunities, and hope that women in other sports and walks of life are inspired by its example," King said in the tour's press release announcing the move.