Billie Jean, writer Lauren Gunderson’s play about tennis legend Billie Jean King, had audiences cheering during its debut at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in July. Gunderson’s script portrays significant events in King’s life on and off the court.
Reviews have praised the production’s quick pacing, comparing it to a fast-paced volley in a tennis match. Considering how much ground there is to cover, it was likely a necessity. In addition to winning 39 Grand Slam titles in her career, King was on the front lines of the women’s movement, particularly regarding tennis. She demanded tournaments award equal prize money to male and female players and spearheaded recognition of and respect for the women’s game
One of the odder highlights of King’s career was a match billed as The Battle of the Sexes. It pitted King, 29, against challenger Bobby Riggs, a 55-year-old former Wimbledon champ and publicity hound.
Riggs was tennis’ No. 1 amateur in 1939 and No. 1 pro in 1946 and 1947. That’s in the world. He remained a presence in the sport after retirement, setting up exhibition matches between himself and other pros, active and retired. He was a self-proclaimed hustler, and these matches kept him paid and in front of a crowd.
In 1973, he pitched his most memorable hustle – challenging female tennis pros to matches, claiming no woman could beat him.
Riggs looked like a proto-Austin Powers in tennis whites, the bangs from a very bad haircut almost brushing the top of his black plastic-frame glasses. But he could still play. He took on Margaret Court, then the No. 1 female player, and won handily.
Riggs first challenged Billie Jean King, who turned him down. When Court lost what came to be known as the “Mother’s Day Massacre,” King changed her mind.
Riggs made a name for/spectacle of himself with his proclamations of male superiority. King was as vocal in her championing of the women’s movement as Riggs was in his dismissal of it. Her threat to skip the U.S. Open in 1973 unless it offered equal prize money to male and female winners caused the tournament to do just that.
The match was held Sept. 20, 1973, in the Houston Astrodome. It was seen by 30,000-plus fans in the Astrodome, a U.S. television audience of 40 million and a worldwide audience of 90 million.
King dominated, beating Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, claiming the winner-takes-all prize of $100,000. The drubbing brought a rare note of humility from Riggs, who said he’d underestimated King and overestimated himself.
Despite its origins as Riggs’ hustle, the match became a watershed moment for women’s tennis and women’s sports in general. Millions of viewers witnessed King during her peak performance years and realized the women’s game was as physical, demanding and exciting as the men’s.
And should anyone forget, they’ll be reminded each year when the U.S. Open is played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
King’s competitiveness on the court is matched by her tireless efforts in support of the rights of women, racial justice and reproductive rights. She is an advocate for the LGBTQ community, sparked in part by her friendship with trans tennis player Renée Richards.
She was a hell of a tennis player, too.
(The Battle of the Sexes has a sweet postscript: King and Riggs became friends after the match, remaining close and speaking frequently by telephone until Riggs’ death from prostate cancer in 1995.)