| Bobby Riggs | |
| |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Biographical Information | |
| Born: | 25 February, 1918 |
| Birthplace: | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Residence: | - |
| Physical Information | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 5 ft 7 in |
| Turned pro: | Turned pro |
| Tennis Information | |
| Plays: | - |
| Career prize money: | US |
| Singles | |
| Career Record: | - |
| Career titles: | - |
| Highest Ranking: | No. 1 (1946) |
| Current Ranking: | - |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open: | - |
| French Open: | - |
| Wimbledon: | W (1939) |
| US Open: | W (1939, 1941) |
| Tour Finals: | - |
| Olympic Games: | - |
| Doubles | |
| Career Record: | |
| Career titles: | - |
| Highest Ranking: | - |
| Current Ranking: | - |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open: | - |
| French Open: | - |
| Wimbledon: | W (1939) |
| US Open: | - |
| Olympic Games: | - |
| Last updated on: 17 August, 2011. | |
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a professional American tennis player born in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1918.
After being mostly forgotten for many years, he gained far more fame in 1973 at the age of 55 by challenge matches against two of the top female players in the world.
Riggs was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967.
Career[]
A photo of Bobby Riggs.
He began playing tennis seriously by age 11 and was coached in his early years at tennis by two women, Dr Esther Bartosh and the coach Eleanor Tennant. As an amateur, he helped the USA win the Davis Cup in 1938, then won the Wimbledon and US singles in 1939. After winning the US singles again in 1941, he turned professional and played for another 10 years.
"The Battle of the Sexes" matches[]
Billie Jean King & Bobby Riggs - "The Battle of the Sexes"
In 1973 he emerged from retirement when he claimed that any half-decent male player could defeat even the best female players; he challenged Margaret Smith Court, then a leading woman player, to a winner-take-all match on national television and defeated a ‘psyched’ court (6–2, 6–1). Pressing his point, later that year, he played Billie Jean King, who routed him in three straight sets. But even though he was humiliated before millions of television viewers, he was smiling all the way to the bank, for it was known that he was an inveterate gambler and these television performances had netted him a handsome payoff. He continued to enjoy the limelight for some time as an over-the-hill hustler-player.