More than 90 million viewers around the globe gathered in front of their television sets on September 20, 1973, to witness what would become one of the most iconic tennis matches ever played. There, inside the Houston Astrodome, 29-year-old Billie Jean King took on 55-year-old Bobby Riggs—and dismantled him in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. Dubbed the "Battle of the Sexes," the contest transcended sport entirely, emerging as a landmark moment in the struggle for gender equality and a turning point for women's athletics.
The Challenge
Back in the 1940s, Bobby Riggs had been a force in men's tennis, claiming Wimbledon and three major singles titles. By 1973, though, he was long retired—better known for his gambling habits and showmanship than for anything happening on a court. He made no secret of his belief that women's tennis was an inferior product, bragging that he could still defeat the world's top female players at age 55. And earlier that year, he seemed to back up the bluster by crushing world number one Margaret Court in a lopsided affair quickly nicknamed the "Mother's Day Massacre."
For Billie Jean King—the driving force behind women's tennis and a fierce champion of equal pay—turning down Riggs's challenge simply wasn't an option. She understood the stakes viscerally. A loss, as she later put it, would have "set us back 50 years," dealing a blow not just to women's tennis but to the self-esteem of women everywhere.
The Spectacle
Everything about the event was designed to feel like a carnival. Billie Jean King made her entrance carried Cleopatra-style by four male attendants, while Bobby Riggs rolled up in a rickshaw pulled by models. The two swapped playfully provocative gifts before the match: Riggs presented King with a giant lollipop, and she fired back by handing him a squealing piglet—a pointed jab at his chauvinist public image.
Once play began, though, the theatrics gave way to fierce competition. Having studied Margaret Court's defeat, King refused to fall for Riggs's trick shots and soft lobs, instead anchoring herself at the baseline and forcing him to chase the ball from side to side. Riggs had underestimated her, and it showed. With a live audience of 30,000 packed into the arena and tens of millions watching at home, King claimed a convincing victory.
Cultural Impact
What happened that night stretched far beyond the boundaries of a tennis court. Women athletes in 1973 were still battling for basic recognition and equal opportunities, particularly in the wake of Title IX's passage in 1972, which outlawed sex-based discrimination. The Battle of the Sexes handed the women's movement a platform visible to the entire world. King herself later reflected that the real satisfaction wasn't in beating Riggs—it was in introducing vast new audiences to women's tennis and demonstrating that female athletes deserved genuine respect. Her triumph helped cement the women's professional tour and gave powerful momentum to the push for equal prize money at major tournaments. To this day, the Battle of the Sexes stands as one of the most-watched sporting events in history.