The phrase "male tennis star Bobby Riggs" is widely used in stories about this subject. It is also rather deceptive. Let's face it, Bobby Riggs was an EX-tennis star when he played Billie Jean King. He was also a tennis hustler who initiated the "Battle of the Sexes" matches for financial reasons. Bobby Riggs was born before the end of World War 1 and was 55 years old when he played Billie Jean King. I know it makes for a better story if King had defeated the equivalent of Pete Sampras in his prime. Alas, it would also be quite inaccurate.

Earlier that year, Riggs had crushed 30-year-old Margaret Court. Bille Jean King, however, was a craftier opponent and forced Riggs to race around the court -- something he couldn't do at age 55. The result was an easy victory for Billie Jean King. Another result was a big shot in the arm for the game of tennis, which gained attention and became more popular in the United States. Yet another result, of course, and by far the most important, was a greater interest in sports among American women and girls.

I'm too young to recall Billie Jean King. I did grow up, however, watching the great Martina Navratilova. It was lonely being an American fan of Navratilova in the 1980s, since every tennis fan I know of both sexes was in love with Chris Evert. To the extent that Martina is grateful to Billie Jean King, I am, as well. I look forward to the HBO documentary.

Well, if Billie Jean King made (the indeed aging) Bobby Riggs race around the court beyond his abilities, then she deserved to win. She found his weakness and played to it. That's sports.

What was she supposed to do, only serve him shots that he could hit without moving his feet? That's not how you win! There would have been no point in going easy on the guy (who, in any event, came out on one of those maharajah-carriage things carried by scantily clad women).

..Fairfax just noted the Billie Jean played a smart, canny game -- something that M. Court didn't do. (My father went to his grave believing that Court intentiionally threw the match.)

And for my 2 cents worth, I couldn't see then -- nor now -- why such a hulabaloo was made over this sideshow act.

Remember, this 'battle of the sexes' involved the top-ranked woman pro taking on a man old enough to be her father -- hardly a match of equals, unless you believed that aging, mediocre male athletes were superior to the best women athletes at the peak of ther game.

I've got mad respect for Ms. King, but not for this stunt; I reserve my admiration for the guts and grace she showed when she came out; now that was a performance that deserves to be applauded and admired...

Californian wrote: Well, if Billie Jean King made (the indeed aging) Bobby Riggs race around the court beyond his abilities, then she deserved to win. She found his weakness and played to it. That's sports.

What was she supposed to do, only serve him shots that he could hit without moving his feet? That's not how you win!

REPLY: Indeed. King's strategy was masterful, which is why I described her as 'crafty.' I'm sure Margaret Court wished she'd been as clever as King. No one ever accused Billie Jean King of being stupid or lacking the killer instinct of an elite athlete.

Californian wrote: There would have been no point in going easy on the guy (who, in any event, came out on one of those maharajah-carriage things carried by scantily clad women).

REPLY: This is the problem once faces when discussing the match with someone who doesn't have all the facts or does not wish to reveal all the facts so as to deceive the audience. Riggs entered the court on a rickshaw carried by scantily-clad models because that was all part of the schtick, the show. It was an exhibition, after all, and the primary motivation of everyone involved was making money. Billie Jean King entered the court on a throne carried by half-naked men dressed as slaves. I don't know whether you were ignorant of this fact or just preferred not to mention it in the hope that I would not be aware of it. In either case, now you know better.

I haven't seen the documentary yet, but a few years ago I saw an extensive interview with Billie Jean King (maybe on PBS?) And she felt the same way about the Bobby Riggs match - that beating an over-the-hill male player really didn't mean much in terms of tennis or women's equality. But once it became such a big deal in the press, she used it to publicize and promote women's tennis and women's sports in general. She could have used the event just for her own money and fame - instead she took this somewhat silly event and used it to help those who came after her.

the match, and especially, that before the upset, no one was discussing how over-the-hill Bobby Riggs was, only how it was going to be such a rout... implying without trying to say I-told-you-so in advance, that finally someone was going to shut those women's lippers up. ["Women's lip" was an expression my father later used, but I wasn't watching the match with him.]

Of course, after the match, the revisionism began right away, and immediately everyone began discussing King's general fitness, superior conditioning, and the sizes of her muscles vs. Riggs's.

It was much like any other widely promoted sporting event that suffers an upset. The sportscasters (pretty much all men as I recall) were all trying to cover their butts.

I may not remember this part quite as well, but it seems to me that an awful lot of men were rather sulky for awhile.

And so! What happens now when a young woman wins a title in what was an all-male tournament? http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/highschool/tennis/s_445535.html and http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06110/683617-49.stm

The powers-that-be change the rules to prevent it from happening again. http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2006/04/21/tennis/index.html

Apparently, they were concerned about potential reciprocity. "During the discussion, a few members praised Houghton but also said they didn't think girls should be playing boys' sports or vice versa." http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06111/683936-49.stm

C'est la vie...