The players involvedBillie Jean King and Bobby Riggs
- Billie Jean King. a legend on the court and a pioneer off the court
Billie Jean King, born Billie Jean Moffitt in 1943, isn’t just one of the greatest tennis players of all time.. He is also one of the most influential figures in tennis history due to her role in the development and promotion of women’s tennis. She founded the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the first association to represent the interests of female tennis players. She was also instrumental in creating the first women’s circuit sponsored by the tobacco brand Virginia Slims.
The first woman in tennis history to earn more than $100,000 in a single year (1971), she had already won 10 Grand Slam titles in singles, 12 in doubles and 9 in mixed doubles. In 1973, he was ranked No. 1 in the world for the fifth year in a row (Note – Computerized rankings were introduced only in 1973).
King has become an activist, a champion of all women’s sports, a leader in women’s rights, and a woman known for equalizing Grand Slam awards.
In 2023, he was named to the US Open in honor of the tournament’s 50th year of equal prize money, a deal that King brokered and which eventually led the other three Grand Slams to follow suit.
- Bobby Riggs. the former world No. 1 who disrespected women’s tennis
Bobby Riggs was born in 1918. The American was world No. 1 as an amateur when he won Wimbledon and the US Open in 1939. At the All-England Club that year, he managed to win all three possible titles: singles, doubles and mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1940, but his career was then interrupted by World War II. By the late 1940s, touring and competing with the likes of Donald Budge and Jack Cramer, he was considered one of the world’s best tennis players. After his retirement in 1951, he remained associated with tennis as a promoter, but later became known mainly as a runner and gambler.
He claimed to have made a fortune in 1939 betting on his own triple win at Wimbledon. In the early 1970s, disagreeing with King’s demands for equal pay, she began criticizing women’s tennis in the most caricatured way possible, perhaps to gain attention. “A woman’s place is in the kitchen and the bedroom, and not necessarily in that order,” would remain one of his most famous statements, earning him the nickname “male pig chauvinist.”
Finally, at the age of 55, he decided to challenge King in his prime to prove the superiority of men’s tennis. At first, King refused and stated that he had no intention of confronting her. She then challenged Margaret Court, who accepted, and on May 13, 1973, she defeated her 6–2, 6–1.
The placeThe Houston Astrodome in Texas
The long-awaited “Battle of the Sexes” between Riggs and King was held at the Houston Observatory in Texas. It was the world’s first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium and it was officially opened in 1965. It has served as the part-time home of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB) to the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL0), as well as the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1971.
The factsBillie Jean King felt more relief than joy after the victory
Riggs has been stirring the pot on women’s tennis for a while. In 1973 she declared that women’s tennis was in decline and that even at her current age of 55 she could still beat any of the top female players. Riggs initially targeted King, whom he called “the sex leader of a revolutionary group.” King made a name for herself by founding the first women’s professional tour and demanding “equal pay for equal play.” Riggs, on the other hand, claimed it was nonsense. He backed up his claim by challenging King to win all the games, trying to provoke him because he wasn’t interested;
“If he can’t beat a tired old man, he ain’t worth half his dough.”
B:illie jean King didn’t take the bait. He knew how much was at stake there. if he lost, his case would be lost. The risks were too great.
Unlike King, Court was not interested in fighting for women’s rights. He stepped in, negotiated with Riggs to collect the prize money, and accepted the challenge. On May 13, 1973, he was destroyed by Riggs 6-2, 6-1.
It’s a battle of the sexes, and the gladiator of men happens to be me, a 55-year-old with one foot in the grave.
Bobby Riggs
The self-proclaimed male pig-chauvinist was beside himself with excitement. “Now I want the king badly. I’ll play him on clay, grass, wood, cement, marble or roller skates. We have to keep having this sex.”
When King learned that Court had been soundly defeated, he knew he had no choice but to accept the challenge. He couldn’t avoid Riggs anymore. He had said himself that if Cort was beaten, he would have to face Riggs.
If the first Battle of the Sexes was a popular sporting event, the second became the biggest tennis event ever held in the United States. The American broadcaster paid US$700,000 to televise the $100,000 winner’s bracket tennis match between Riggs and King on prime-time television. Australian legend Rod Laver criticized him for enhancing the tennis scene instead of creating it.
“This is not just a tennis match,” Riggs announced at the pre-match press conference. “It’s a battle of the sexes, and the gladiator of men happens to be me, 55 years old with one foot in the grave.”
Riggs had certainly won the speaking contest. Ready to say something to attract attention, he went so far as to “prove that women are lousy, they stink and don’t belong in the same court as men.”
Despite his confidence, there were rumors before the match that the 1939 Wimbledon champion was not in the form he had been in May when he defeated Court. He had spent more time and energy promoting the show than practicing, and he would soon regret it.
In fact, his opponent had been training specifically for this battle; “I take this match very seriously. I like to win. I welcome the responsibility and the pressure. Bobby better be ready.”
He played extremely well. He was playing well inside himself and I wasn’t able to get the most out of my game. It was over too quickly.
Bobby Riggs
King made his first appearance in a gold Cleopatra-style gown, while Riggs entered the stadium in a gold-wheeled rickshaw in a circus-style entrance that Lever would have strongly approved of. 30,000 people attended the Astrodome and 90 million viewers watched the game on television.
At first, things were going well for Riggs, who called himself a “tennis bully.” He broke his opponent’s serve first and took a 3-2 lead, but could not hold his own serve in the next game. Unlike Cort, who was caught out by Riggs’ foul shots, King was ready. He remained patient and made long rallies from the baseline to wear down his 55-year-old opponent. As a result, he won the first set 6-4 after he hit no less than 26 winners.
Although King was broken again early in the second set, it was now clear that Riggs was not physically fit to play multiple sets at that level of intensity. He abandoned his basic tactics and stepped out onto the net, but King regularly passed him without much difficulty. The greatest tennis match in American history was one-sided, with the women’s world No. 1 prevailing 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
“He was too good,” Riggs commented, not nearly as excited as he had been at the end of the win against Cort. “He was playing extremely well. He was playing well inside himself and I wasn’t able to get the most out of my game. It was over too quickly.”
King later stated that he did not consider defeating Riggs a special achievement, but that the victory was a great relief for him.
“I thought if I didn’t win that game it would set us back 50 years. It would ruin the women’s tour and affect the self-esteem of all women. It wasn’t a thrill for me to beat a 55-year-old guy. That excitement was exposing a lot of new people to tennis.”
What next?? Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs would remain friends until his death
In the following months, depressed by his defeat, Riggs would pursue King for a rematch, which he declined. Over time, the two Battle of the Sexes contenders would form a strong bond, and they would remain friends until Riggs’ death in 1995. The popular game was also turned into a Hollywood movie that was released in 2017.
19 years after the match, in 1992, another man vs. woman showdown, dubbed Battle of the Champions, saw Jimmy Connors outclass Martina Navratilova. Even though Connors was only allowed one serve and Navratilova could hit half of the sets, she still won 7-5 6-2. Connors went on to claim that he later bet a million dollars on himself with less than eight games left.