Riggs, meanwhile, came in on a rickshaw surrounded by scantily clad women known as “Bobby’s bosom buddies.” King then presented Riggs with a squealing baby pig and in return received a … It took place at an out-of-the-way, just-completed resort in the dusty Southern California town of Ramona. At age 18 he was ranked fourth in the United States, and in 1939, at the age of 21, he was first in the world. "I'm not used to such a slow place," Court said after the match.

He also told Riggs and Budge that the winner of the Professional American Singles Championship, to be held at On December 26, 1947, Kramer and Riggs embarked on their long tour, beginning with an easy victory by Riggs in front of 15,000 people, who had made their way to In 1951, more than 20 years before he faced Court and King, Riggs played a short series of matches against In spite of still beating the great professionals such as As a senior player in his 60s and 70s, Riggs won numerous national titles within various age groups. She expected traditional serve-and-volley tennis from her opponent. He came out of retirement to challenge one of the world's greatest female players to a match, claiming that the female game was inferior and that a top female player could not beat him, even at the age of 55. In mid-1947, he had already made a deal with Kramer that he would turn professional after the U.S. Championships, regardless of whether he was the winner. Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs during a press conference for their “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, 1973.Bobby Riggs (bottom) and Billie Jean King during their “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match in the Astrodome, Houston, Texas, September 20, 1973.This article was most recently revised and updated by

"Train, train, train. In September 1973, at age 55, he held one such event against the then current women's champion At 18, Riggs was still a junior but won the Southern California Men's Title and then went East to play on the grass-court circuit in spite of Jones's opposition. History at your fingertips In 1973, Riggs saw an opportunity to both make money and draw attention to the sport of tennis. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Every day, Tennis Majors takes you back in time to relive a tennis event which happened on this specific day. Billie Jean King x Bobby Riggs. On May 13th, 1973, 55-year old Bobby Riggs thrashed Margaret Court, then the world No 2, in a match known as the "Mother's Day Massacre".

The rap was so loud, so unrestrained, and so obnoxious, Margaret couldn't help but note, "You make more noise than Bobby Riggs."

Riggs made the spectacle happen by putting together the Mother's Day match four months earlier -- and winning it. So it was a big deal—bigger than she realized—when she accepted what appeared to be a one-off squash match against a middle-aged caricature like Riggs for a $10,000 payday.King couldn’t get through to her. She knew Margaret’s loss would not only be used to undermine the fight for equal pay on the tour, it would also provide an easy caricature for political cartoonists. She had not been prepared for either his junk shots or his jibber-jabber.

"King had waved off Riggs, recognizing that beating a creaky old motor-mouth wouldn't do much for feminism's cause.Court happily took her place. "Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. On May 13, 1973, during the early years of the women’s liberation movement, tennis stars Bobby Riggs and Margaret Court face off in a $10,000 winner-take-all challenge match.