“The Battle of the Sexes” between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King was an iconic re-enactment of one of the world’s oldest conflicts in history: the battle of man verses woman, played out on a simple green and white painted concrete court. Yet the spectacle surrounding the match was anything but simple; hosted in the futuristic Astrodome with a crowd of 30,492 present, this match became the most watched tennis match in the US. This landmark match was televised to over 90 million people around the world, including 50 million in the United States. The match was promoted by Bobby Riggs, once the world’s greatest tennis player, at every opportunity. He even filming several commercials with companies such as American Express and Sunbeam Curling Iron. When September 20, 1973 finally arrived, it was rich with allegorical pageantry. Bobby Riggs was carried onto the court in a gilded rickshaw led by beautiful models, wearing a fluorescent yellow warm-up jacket with a logo reading “Sugar Daddy”. Billie Jean King was carried in on a golden litter, held high by muscled men in togas. Before the match Billie presented Bobby with a squealing pig and Bobby gave her a large “Sugar Daddy” lollipop. The theatrics of the match however were ultimately a distraction from the greater social and historical implications of the match for women everywhere. The match led to equal pay and
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In fact Bobby had tried numerous times to publically set up a match with Billie, and she had never risen to the bait. Riggs wanted to face King despite her being the second ranked player at the time because she was a leader in the movement for equal pay for women. It wasn’t until Margaret Court, the number one ranked woman’s tennis player, lost in what became known as the Mother’s Day Massacre to Bobby Riggs that King decided it was time to intervene for women worldwide and agreed to play the aging tennis star.
Playing the
In fact Bobby had tried numerous times to publically set up a match with Billie, and she had never risen to the bait. Riggs wanted to face King despite her being the second ranked player at the time because she was a leader in the movement for equal pay for women. It wasn’t until Margaret Court, the number one ranked woman’s tennis player, lost in what became known as the Mother’s Day Massacre to Bobby Riggs that King decided it was time to intervene for women worldwide and agreed to play the aging tennis star.
Playing the