It was a momentous milestone, brought about in no small part by an equally momentous champion, Billie Jean King. In 1973, the US Open became the first of the four Grand Slam tournaments to offer equal prize money to men and women competitors, a pioneering move that shook the sport and began to reshape it toward a more equitable future.
As we this year celebrate the 50th anniversary of this important US Open milestone, USOpen.org will feature a series of reflections upon other major markers of equality in tennis across this past half-century, each of which helped to nudge the sport forward toward the grand goal of a more level playing field for all. In this installment, we reflect on the famous "Battle of the Sexes" between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which had all the glitz and glamor of Hollywood in 1973 as it did in 2017, when it was made into a film starring Emma Stone (pictured with King, above) and Steve Carrell.
The “Battle of the Sexes” spectacle between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King on the night of Sept. 20, 1973 was unlike anything seen before by tennis fans.
More than 30,000 fans filled the Houston Astrodome and estimated global TV audiences of 90 million tuned in to hear Howard Cosell’s call of the $100,000 winner-take-all match.
The 55-year-old Riggs, was a former world No. 1 in 1939 when he won both the Wimbledon and U.S. National (Open) singles crowns, and had been a star on the old professional tour circuit. But in recent years, he had turned into an unabashed male chauvinist, loudly shouting, “ A women’s place is in the kitchen and bedroom, and not necessarily in that order.”
Appropriately, as far as Riggs was concened anyway, he came into the court on a gold-wheel rickshaw pulled by female pin-ups.
King, 29, was women’s tennis royalty on and off the court. She would be the No. 1 player in the world in 1973, for the fifth consecutive year, had been the first woman to earn more than $100,000 in a year in 1971, and was the leader in the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association.
On this night, she looked the part. Elegantly outfitted in a Ted Tinling-designed original gold dress, which now hangs in the Smithsonian Museum, she was carried on the court on a gold litter by men dressed as ancient servants.
But, beneath the Hollywood glitz and flourishes, something very important and meaningful in women’s sports was taking place that night on the Astrodome floor.
“I was between a rock and a hard place. I felt, emotionally, I had to win. I felt like it was life or death,” King recalled in a TV interview on the 40th anniversary of the match.
Riggs had beaten the Australian star Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 in what was called the “Mother’s Day Massacre” a few months earlier and then threw the gauntlet at King to play him next. Understanding what was at stake, King trained hard for the match.
“I’m taking this match very seriously,” King said in a pre-match interview at the time. “I welcome the responsibility and the pressure. Bobby had better be ready.”
Riggs was not ready: He spent more time promoting than he did practicing. Though he got out to an early 3-2 first-set lead on a service break, Riggs could not physically stand up to King’s shots and command of the lengthy baseline rallies, and began to fade. King went on to win in convincing fashion, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, and made a believer of Riggs.
“She was too good," he said. "She played very well. It was over too quickly."
Afterwards, King spoke about the significance of her victory for all women, tennis players and otherwise.
“I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match,” King said. “It would ruin the women’s tour and affect all women’s self esteem.”
