Bobby Riggs

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Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs (born February 25, 1918 in Los Angeles , California , † October 25, 1995 in Encinitas , California) was an American tennis player .

biography

Riggs was always in the top ten of the world rankings from 1936 to 1941 and was number one in the world in 1939. He won both the men's singles at Wimbledon (against his doubles partner Elwood Cooke ) and the US Open in 1939 . He was able to repeat the success in Forest Hills in 1941. In 1967 he was accepted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame .

Riggs was 55 years old when he played twice against women under the motto " The Battle of the Sexes ". His first opponent was the then number 1 in women's tennis on May 13, 1973, the 30-year-old Margaret Court . Riggs clearly won 6: 2 and 6: 1; the game went down in history as the “Mother's Day Massacre”. The second opponent was Billie Jean King , who won on September 20, 1973 in front of 30,472 spectators in three sets (6: 4, 6: 3 and 6: 3). There are indications that Riggs purposely lost the second duel - in contrast to the first match against the better player - to pay off gambling debts.

Riggs died of cancer in Encinitas in October 1995 .

In the movie adaptation Battle of the Sexes - He is played by Steve Carell .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 40 Love History: The Battle Of The Sexes ( Memento from January 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ). In: WTA , September 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ Hendrik Ternieden: The gender struggle and the mafia. In: Spiegel Online . August 28, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Riggs, Bobby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Riggs, Robert Larimore (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American tennis player
DATE OF BIRTH February 25, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles , California, United States
DATE OF DEATH October 25, 1995
Place of death Encinitas , California