Battle of the Sexes

Billie Jean King & Bobby Riggs - 1973 The Battle of the Sexes most famously refers to the legendary 1973 exhibition tennis match where 29-year-old women's world champion Billie Jean King defeated 55-year-old former men's champion Bobby Riggs in straight sets. Broadcast globally to an estimated 90 million viewers, the match became a monumental cultural milestone for the women's liberation movement and gender equality in sports. More broadly, the phrase is a colloquial term used to describe any competition, conflict, or general rivalry between men and women. The Famous 1973 Tennis Match The historic showdown took place on September 20, 1973, at the Houston Astrodome. It was fueled by Bobby Riggs' self-proclaimed male chauvinist persona and his public assertions that the women's game was inherently inferior to the men's game. Key Facts & Figures The Result: Billie Jean King won decisively in straight sets: 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. The Stakes: A winner-take-all prize of $100,000. The Spectacle: King made a grand entrance on a gold litter carried by four shirtless men, while Riggs arrived in a rickshaw pulled by models. Cultural Impact: The match occurred right after the passage of Title IX Legislation, drastically accelerating public acceptance of women's sports and validating the push for equal pay. Allegations of Match Throwing There was speculation that Riggs deliberately lost based on his poor play and large number of unforced errors, in order to win large sums of money that he had bet against himself as a way to pay off his gambling debts. However, Riggs had a potential $1 million match against Chris Evert in the works if he won; furthermore, it was a winner-take-all match for the $100,000 prize.  A headline at the time was "Women Ecstatic, Men Make Excuses." Riggs said afterwards that he underestimated Billie Jean King, who hit outright winners on 68% of her shots.