Was the match between Billie Jean King & Bobby Riggs fixed? Battle of the Sexes 50th anniversary 👀 

I don't know if the match was rigged but I think that Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean set up the match for one reason, to help promote women's tennis. I think the hostility between the two was an act to draw interest for their match and woman's tennis. I think Bobby's motive and Billie Jean's motive were the same, "to help bring more attention to the women's game", which at the time was not even close to what it is now. The ploy worked!

So what you're saying is Bobby RIGGS rigged a match...huh...

The comment about Riggs having to play the match to stay alive is the truth

Bobby has the perfect last name😆

As much as I’d like to say Billie Jean won fair and square, it’s so clear from match highlights that Bobby threw it. He even bet against himself in this match so he had more to gain by losing than winning. If he was able to beat Court that easily then he would’ve done the same against Billie Jean. The amount of unforced errors in there and the over-exaggerated annoyance at losing a point made it all too obvious.

BJK built her entire career and post career around beating Riggs. She can never admit that he threw it. He is walking around and hitting the ball directly into the net repeatedly.

The Bobby Riggs book -- "Court Hustler" -- remains a great read....some 50 years after it was published.

I watched it live when I was a teen. I used to play a lot of tennis back then. The unforced errors Riggs made drove me nuts. At that time, I didn't know anything about the mob/Riggs connection, I just knew he was not playing to his ability. Almost laughable at times. He thru the match and I know King doesn't want to believe that but anyone who plays and watched that match knew it.

If Bobby threw the match I doubt he would've lost in straight sets. Would've made it more interesting.

So this so called old man. After the match this man clears the net perfectly to jump over. But couldn't chase down some easy pop shots from king. The man got the word rig in his name for christ sakes. 😂

Riggs prior to this utterly demolished the then top ranked female tennis player with casual ease. Factor that in with Riggs having gambling debts and having a history of using tennis as a way to make money, it's painfully obvious he threw the match.

I never knew about his match against the GOAT Margaret Court and how he destroyed her. Funny how that fact is rarely reported on. If he destroyed Court, then he should have been able to beat King without much effort.

He threw the match to get out of debt. There were heavy bettors on him being the winner. So to bet against him they made much more money. He got out of debt after that tennis match surprisingly

Riggs was clearly a betting man & a troll 😂😂. Definitely think he threw the match, look at all the incredibly easy shots that he missed...After he just demolished the number 1 female in Tennis, soon after, he gets destroyed by Billie Jean? I dont buy it.

So youre telling me Bobby Riggs: -Had A Gambling Addiction -Ties to the Mafia - And won against the best player in the world before going against her and absolutely tanking And people think that the match wasnt thrown?

Absolutely was fixed

The whole thing was a publicity stunt to promote women's tennis. All of us who were there understood that.

I feel bad for Billie. She was robbed of the chance to really win.

so Bobby Riggs was a feminist after all😂

Of course it was rigged. Riggs used the match to pay off gambling debts. Just a few months prior to this, he beat Margaret Court - objectively superior to BJK by no small amount - in straight sets. The only people who think this is legit are the feminists who are desperate for a talking point. The Williams sisters played a set each against the 203rd ranked Karsten Braasch, who was a chain-smoking drunk. He played a round of golf that morning and chugged a beer between points. He beat Venus 6-2 and Serena 6-1. Women can't compete with men. It's simple biology. Don't kill the messenger, it's simple truth.

Of course, Billie Jean doesn't believe he threw the match. Because she takes so much pride that she actually beat a man. He clearly threw the match

There was a tennis commentator who said that he witnessed Riggs was routinely beating male college players that same year. Then he went out and demolished Margaret Court within that same time period. Rumor was he owed money to some people who meant business. Apparently he had to do whatever he did so he could keep breathing. Remember he had already beaten .Margaret Court. So he already proved his point.

I was born in the 90s so i knew nothing about this when the movie came out. But the more I read about this and the two athletes, the more it seems like this was most likely rigged.

After watching this on “Mysteries at the Museum”, I think it probably wasn’t rigged, but King studied Riggs carefully, to work out his strengths and weaknesses, and then played on his weakness (lack of stamina). I doubt Riggs studied King in the same manner.

Bobby definitely threw the match.

I was close firneds with both, Bobby was my daughter's godfather. And to think, Billie would be part of a fix, and that Bobby would do anything like that and chance his livelihood of hustling. He worked very hard at every hustle he ever dod. I know I was wit him when he practised. He thought there would be a rematch if he won or lose. He would have gotten more money for a rematch that he won the first.

Everyone be sure to thank the mob for their support of the women's movement.

Great Documentary!

Even if he didn’t threw the match, I wouldn’t be proud of winning a game against someone the put up that level of performance

He had just destroyed Margaret Court. The gap between Margaret Court and Billie Jean was about nil. He is always been a showman and it was good for women's tennis so yes he threw the match

Not sure why the anniversary of this event is even being marked

Also, watch match point, doesn’t anyone think it’s very strange that after all the hype that Riggs went through to get this match played, and the embarrassment of losing the match with the biggest sports audience of all time, jumps over the net to congratulate Bill Jean King. Riggs was the true winner in the match. Losers don’t jump the net. Show me another match where this has ever happened?? Riggs was thrilled that he pulled it off and was now debt free from the mob and with enough money to retire on!

I think the question to ask is - have you seen a former champ play that badly?

I can confirm this was fixed

He was the perfect villain for that time 😂😂😊

C'mon, he threw the match, made big money, and helped women's tennis... Win win for both sides... heheh.. 😂😂

The film "Battle of the Sexes" does a good job of capturing the personality of these two people which was very different from the media's caricature of them. It was a manipulative money maker and it worked. Facts: King and Riggs were very friendly with each other. She was 29 and he was 55 and some of his errors looked deliberate. Riggs was a charismatic showman and a troubled gambler deeply and dangerously in debt and trying to hustle money any way he can. If he won, nobody would remember this game like with Margaret Court. If he lost, the public would obsess and gloat over it for decades. He was right. Riggs was a charming con artist and the public, particularly women, fell for his sexist act and still believe it to this day. "Progressives" who don't care about tennis still cling to this myth. They should thank Bobby Riggs and the mafia for inadvertently promoting their cherished "progressive" myth.

Venus and Serena Williams took on then World No. 203 Karsten Braasch at the 1998 Australian Open, in an exhibition event named "The Battle of the Sexes." The event came about after the Americans allegedly claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the top-200. The 50 year old man easily defeated both Williams sisters. The quirky lefty's herky-jerky serve and masterful skill shifting spins and creating obscure angles befuddled the teenage Serena as Braasch prevailed, 6-1.

Fixed or not, Riggs was an old man😂

This is where the term rigged came from

Did Riggs rig the match?

Riggs was indeed a hustler…entirely possible.

Riggs was deeply in debt to the mob, and throwing this match was his way of wiping the slate clean.

I watched this tennis 🎾 match with my mom and dad when I was 11 years old. Everyone was talking about the upcoming, and it got got huge ratings, but considering beat the #1 female tennis player in the world at that time, ine has to wonder if Bobby did ultimately throw the match.

He obviously threw the match lol

I’ve never actually watched the match just the movie based on that famous event. I truly believe that some female players could beat an older male ex pro. Tennis has changed a lot over the years especially the jump from wooden rackets to aluminium. I truly believe that someone like Serena Williams could beat someone like Bjorn Borg. We all saw Bjorgs comeback. It was just awful to watch the once unbeatable Nord struggle with the new style that came with aluminium rackets.

This shouldn't surprise me. Riggs was a tennis hustler. He was always about putting something over on someone. He lived in Encinitas, CA and hung out at the La Costa Country Club, which was a known Mob-owned property during the 70s and 80s. He also had a home in Las Vegas. My mom knew him as she was a tennis journalist for AP. He even invited her to come up and stay with him at his place in Las Vegas. He was always hustling. My mom was a dedicated wife and mother; she never took him up on his offer. She knew if she wasn't buying his BS, he was making similar offers to other women. Always the hustler. Another Tennis hustler was Pancho Gonzales. This is what men's tennis was before it became big-time media entertainment.

billie started this nonsense, same pay at slams..... playing a quarter or a fifth the time men play,,,, outrageous

There is no way he didn't throw that match

I mean, if the question in all of this is whether women are equal to men on the tennis court, would we be surprised if we heard that a 29 year old Federer beat a 55 year old Serena Williams? If not, why would we be surprised if it was the other way round?

Bobby Rigged? Yes, yes it was. Watched it, knew it, nothing has changed.

Yes

Riggs was not tanking. He was throwing the match. Big big difference!

Questions: Does Hal Shaw have anything to gain from making this claim about what he heard? What's his background and reputation for truthfulness? What were the betting markets for the match like? Are there any records as to what was bet on whom? Were there any indications in the days and weeks after the match that Riggs's financial condition had just improved? What was King's record against Court?

Watch the first battle of the sexes match, Riggs vs Margaret Court just a few months earlier in May of 1973. Riggs toyed with court 6-2 / 6-1. Riggs lost on purpose.

50 years later and they still cry that a woman beat a guy in a tennis match, some men are so delusional they will believe she was a witch to not face the truth

Was the match rigged?

Ngl I don't understand how BJK can show her face at the anniversary celebrations and the such. I'd be so ashamed to know the reason I'm so loved is built around a lie

The movie with Steve Carrol doesn’t admit the obvious truth that this game was staged. Even if it was not staged… he was 26 years older!!! Not much of a battle - but especially when one of the players has gambling debts.

She was in her absolute prime. He was old, washed, drunk and most definitely threw the match for money.

Riggs fixed the match but I do understand why Billie Jean King needs to believe he tried his best.

C’mom Billie Jean. Admite he allowed you to win..

UPDATE: and here we are decades later, are any of you wondering if/how/why any CURRENT tennis pros throw a match or a set? I swear it CERTAINLY looks like it to me, especially with one world class goatee player, make no um...joke...about it...get it? i swear this dude is the smartest player to ever set foot on a court...make his OWN health choices and was severely punished for it by the so called health officials...pple can gabjab all they want about this, but due to his nojabb personal choice, hes clearly the topdog and will b for some time as his body has not been damaged by the spear, but have u ever seen him clearly far and away AHEAD of another player in a match, then inexplicably screw up repeatedly and lose the second set, then seemingly come roaring back and demolish the opponent, winning the match? ive seen him do this very regularly, then he, to keep everyone guessing, actually throws a whole match when you KNOW hes easily capable of totally annihilating the opponent, ie at the latest wimbledon event? tennis betting is alive and well folks, no ive never done it, but im convinced it flourishes despite altruistics will deny it. anyone who can speak 5 languages fluently is beyond smart, and its like watching a cat play with a mouse to watch him play, with a cloud of set-fixing sprinkled on it...

Yes, yes it was.

Was clearly fixed

And she decided to be his friend afterwards. What an idiot. Don't befriend pig just because you humbled them.

50 years ago.

If he threw the match he would have done it for something other than money. Riggs was in it for the money. The mob was in it for the money. And it made no business sense for him to lose this match. If he had won he could have had a 3rd match with Chris Everett. And that match could have made even more money. And even if he had lost that 3rd match, he could have had a rematch and make even more money. By losing purposely he robbed himself of buckets of money. Nor he or the mob would have wanted that.

watched both matches on tv with my brother…an absolute beat down of Court and a laughingly mediocre effort against King…the only way Riggs was going to play that pathetically was if it was on purpose…Court was the best player in women’s tennis…head to head, Court 22-10 over King…in 5 grand slam finals, Court won 4 of those over King…Riggs played to win over the better women’s player Court, and demolished her…Riggs did not play to win the match against King…

Today's women's tour would have no problem beating Riggs. The level of tennis back then was good but not today's standards.

I believe Riggs threw the match. He came off as the nice guy though

I feel like a lot of people are too quick to believe that it was rigged to comfort their worldview. If Billie Jean King, who actually played the match, says that he was trying to win then you should believe her. I don't think we should take the word of one guy who allegedly overheard a conversation sayig he would fix the match and take that as more credible. Also, why would he not admit it like 20 years later when he knew he was going to die from cancer? Makes no sense that he would stay silent about rigging it

We all know it was fixed 🤦🏽‍♂️

The 100th ranked man would beat the top ten women players. The game was thrown

Ohh God..did people not see through this

Very overrated sporting event

How old was Bobby Riggs was, when he played against Billie Jean King?

Fixed! No doubt

Of course it was fixed! Bobby Riggs was middle aged and Billie Jean King was in her physical prime! You want a real battle of the sexes? Have Billie Jean King go up against John McEnroe in his prime, and then we'll see. It would certainly be entertaining. 😂

William Jean King

There was no fix!!! BJK beat him fair and square!!

Anything is possible

I can’t believe BJK believes her own Bs 😂😂😂

Riggs rigs.

Bobby certainly looked like he was tanking.

BS propaganda. Follow the money.

Seriously, you must be very, very gullible.!

If the man lost yes it was fixed

Hats off to Ms. King....respect, admiration. Thank you for your monumental achievement for all women.