# Bobby Riggs
**Bobby Riggs** (Robert Larimore Riggs; February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis player, world No. 1 in 1939, and later a promoter and self-described "tennis hustler" best remembered for the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" exhibition match against [Billie Jean King](https://www.edgepedia.org/billie-jean-king), which he lost in straight sets.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | February 25, 1918, Los Angeles; October 25, 1995[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) |
| Peak season | 1939: won Wimbledon singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, plus the U.S. National singles title, becoming world No. 1[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) |
| Other majors | U.S. National singles 1941; U.S. Pro Championships 1946, 1947, 1949 (all against Don Budge)[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) |
| Davis Cup | Member of the 1938 U.S. team that defeated Australia[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/riggs-bobby) |
| Mother's Day Massacre | Beat Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 on May 13, 1973, in Ramona, California[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) |
| Battle of the Sexes | Lost to Billie Jean King 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on September 20, 1973, at the Houston Astrodome before 30,492 spectators[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) |
| Hall of Fame | Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, class of 1967[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) |
## Amateur and professional career
Riggs began playing tennis at age 11 in Los Angeles and came up through Perry Jones's Southern California junior system; by 16 he was the No. 5 ranked junior in the United States, and at 17 he won the National Junior Championships. As an 18-year-old in 1936 he captured the U.S. Clay Court Championship in Chicago.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/)
His peak came in 1939. At Wimbledon, seeded second, he won the singles title over Elwood Cooke in five sets, 2-6, 8-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, then paired with Cooke to take the doubles and with Alice Marble to take the mixed doubles, sweeping all three championship events at the tournament.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) That year he also won the U.S. National singles championship, beating Welby Van Horn 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, and he finished the season ranked world No. 1.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) He had helped the United States win the [Davis Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/davis-cup) against Australia in 1938.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/riggs-bobby)
Riggs turned professional in 1941, the year he won his second U.S. National singles title, over Francis Kovacs in five sets.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) As a pro he won the U.S. Pro Championships in 1946, 1947, and 1949, each time defeating Don Budge, and reached the final of the 1949 Wembley Pro Championships, losing to [Jack Kramer](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-kramer), who held a 69-20 head-to-head advantage in their touring matches.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) Standing 5 feet 7 inches, Riggs relied on placement, disguise, and speed rather than power, mixing hard deep drives with drop shots.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/)
## The hustler years and the 1973 matches
After his professional career ended around 1969, Riggs turned to promotion and hustling, making bets and staging gimmick matches with obstacles and handicaps.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) • [3](https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/billie-jean-king-and-battle-sexes) In the early 1970s he publicly proclaimed the superiority of male athletes and challenged the leading women players, framing the events as publicity stunts.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/riggs-bobby) • [1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/)
**The Mother's Day Massacre.** Billie Jean King initially declined his challenge, and [Margaret Court](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-court), the world's top-ranked woman, accepted instead, lured by a $100,000 prize whether she won or lost.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) • [3](https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/billie-jean-king-and-battle-sexes) Riggs trained for months and waged a media campaign aimed at unsettling Court, then beat her 6-2, 6-1 on May 13, 1973, in Ramona, California, a match the media called the "Mother's Day Massacre."[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) Afterward he appeared on the covers of Time and [Sports Illustrated](https://www.edgepedia.org/sports-illustrated).[3](https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/billie-jean-king-and-battle-sexes)
**The Battle of the Sexes.** King, then 29 and in her prime, accepted a $100,000 winner-take-all challenge, determined to redeem women's tennis after Court's loss.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) • [3](https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/billie-jean-king-and-battle-sexes) This time Riggs spent the summer on publicity rather than training and arrived out of shape, though oddsmaker [Jimmy the Greek](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-snyder-sports-commentator) still made him a 5-2 favorite.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) On September 20, 1973, at the Houston Astrodome, King entered carried on a gold litter like [Cleopatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleopatra) and Riggs rode in on a rickshaw pulled by women he called his "Bobby's Bosom Buddies."[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) With Howard Cosell announcing, King dominated from the first point and won 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 before a record tennis crowd of 30,492.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) estimates vary: about 50 million U.S. viewers per one account, and a reported 90 million worldwide per another.[3](https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/billie-jean-king-and-battle-sexes) • [1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/) The match remains the most-watched in tennis history, according to the Associated Press.[4](https://apnews.com/article/7a896a2b523557b5f97054f9a0f81a67)
## The rigging allegation and later life
In 2013, former country club employee Hal Shaw alleged he had overheard mobsters discussing a proposal in which Riggs would fix both the Court and King matches in exchange for clearing gambling debts of about $100,000, claiming Riggs would beat Court and then "go in the tank" against King while making the loss look legitimate.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/was-billie-jean-king-s-battle-of-the-sexes-victory-rigged-new-information-suggests-famous-tennis-match-may-have-been-fixed-to-settle-bobby-riggs-100-000-mafia-debt-8787813.html) ESPN explored the claim in a documentary, and King has denied that the match was fixed; people close to Riggs called the accusation ridiculous.[6](https://time.com/4952004/battle-of-the-sexes-movie-true-story/)
Riggs was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1988 and founded the Bobby Riggs Tennis Foundation in [Encinitas, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/encinitas-california), in 1994 to display tennis memorabilia and raise awareness of the disease.[7](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/bobby-riggs) He and King became friends in later years, and the two spoke a few days before he died of cancer on October 25, 1995.[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/)
## Legacy
The Battle of the Sexes loss, coming a year after the passage of [Title IX](https://www.edgepedia.org/title-ix), placed sports at the center of the American debate over gender equity, and King became an enduring symbol of that movement.[8](https://academic.oup.com/north-carolina-scholarship-online/book/20655) Riggs's own place in the sport rests on his 1939 season and his three U.S. Pro titles, and his life was chronicled in his books *Tennis Is My Racket* (1949) and *Court Hustler* (1973).[1](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/)
## References
1. [Bobby Riggs, International Tennis Hall of Fame](https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bobby-riggs/)
2. [Riggs, Bobby, Encyclopedia.com (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/riggs-bobby)
3. [Billie Jean King and the Battle of the Sexes, National Women's History Museum](https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/billie-jean-king-and-battle-sexes)
4. [On 50th anniversary of Billie Jean King's 'Battle of the Sexes' win, a push to honor her in Congress, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/7a896a2b523557b5f97054f9a0f81a67)
5. [Was Billie Jean King's 'Battle of the Sexes' victory rigged?, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/was-billie-jean-king-s-battle-of-the-sexes-victory-rigged-new-information-suggests-famous-tennis-match-may-have-been-fixed-to-settle-bobby-riggs-100-000-mafia-debt-8787813.html)
6. [The True Story Behind the Battle of the Sexes Movie, TIME](https://time.com/4952004/battle-of-the-sexes-movie-true-story/)
7. [Bobby Riggs, EBSCO Research Starters](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/bobby-riggs)
8. [Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports, Oxford Academic](https://academic.oup.com/north-carolina-scholarship-online/book/20655)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Racket and precision ball sports › Tennis › Tennis players and seasons › Individual tennis player biographies › North American tennis player biographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license