Battle of the Sexes
This article covers the revolutionary tournament between two tennis pros that shaped the sport as we know it, historically dubbed “The battle of the sexes”.
Billie Jean King
Former world No.1 Tennis player Billie Jean King, born on the 22nd of November 1943, is nothing short of an absolute legend. With 39 grandslam titles behind her name and a spot in the international tennis hall of fame, Billie Jean was an advocate for gender equality and was known for fighting furiously against social injustice. She was inducted into the national women's hall of fame and has accepted various prestigious awards for her contributions to the world of tennis. She is the founder of the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's sports foundation.
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore Riggs (25 February 1918-25 October 1995) was a 2 time U.S Champion in tennis, a runner-up at the French Championship and winner in the mens-doubles and mixed-doubles category. He was ranked the world's No.1 tennis player during 1946-1947. Riggs, a well known gambler, hosted numerous exhibitions where bets were placed on participants. He also challenged fellow players such as Margaret Smith Court. In spite of his small stature, Riggs made up for his physical disadvantages with brains, ball control and speed.
The Battle
Riggs challenged King to a match, King declined, seeing it as an unnecessary inconvenience because of her busy schedule. In response to this, Riggs instead challenged Margaret Court. Following his victory against Court, Riggs mocked all female tennis players, which forced Kings’ hand to accept a profitable financial offer to play against Riggs in a televised match dubbed “The Battle of the Sexes."
The match took place on the 20th of September 1973 and was held in Texas at the Houston Astrodome.
King made her grand entrance “cleopatra-style”, sitting atop a litter carried onto the court by four muscle men dressed as ancient slaves. In similar fashion, Riggs followed in a Rickshaw drawn by models. After which he presented King with a giant Sugar Daddy lollipop and, in return, she gifted him with a squealing piglet. This was intended to be a symbol of male chauvinism. Riggs placed various bets on the match all in his favour.
King won in straight sets (6-4,6-3,6-3). In a 2015 interview King mentioned ‘falling behind’ in the first set, at that point she realized she “had to win the game” given the significance of the match.
King studied Riggs' match against Court and learned from her mistakes. Instead of playing an aggressive game, she stuck to the baseline at first, all while forcing Riggs to cover the entire court, running him from side to side to beat him at his own defensive style of play. Riggs changed to a serve-and-volley game, but he was no match for King and she stepped in and took the victory.
The aftermath
Male critics were less than enthusiastic about her victory. Many blamed Riggs’ age and lack of preparation, claiming these factors were the only notable reasons for his loss. Jack Kramer, whom King requested to be removed from the commentators panel for the match because of his firm beliefs against equal pay for women, stated in an ABC telecast interview “I don't think Billie Jean played all that well. She hit a lot of short balls which Bobby could have taken advantage of had he been in shape.”
Countless other spectators, however, were thrilled and inspired by King's victory. Most of which were women who had experienced a lack of representation in the world of sports up until that day.
The match was so significant that it later inspired a movie, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell.
The match was definitely one for the history books. There is no doubt that Billie Jean King broke barriers and changed the game as we know it.
Article written by Mia Pitzer
