Battle of the Sexes Tennis history: Past matches and results, winners, controversies & more

On December 28, Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios will face off against each other in a ‘Battle of the Sexes' exhibition match. The duo's upcoming clash has generated some controversy, with many expressing fear that a loss for the Belarusian World No.1 could have negative repercussions for women's tennis. As Sabalenka and Kyrgios' clash draws closer, here is a look at all the times men and women have competed against each other in the tennis world.

Overall, there have been five Battle of the Sexes matches in the history of tennis. The first one of these took place more than five decades ago. After retired men's singles star Bobby Riggs dismissed Billie Jean King's demand for equal pay, he asked King to face him in a winner takes all match. While King refused to entertain the 55-year-old’s ideas, 22-time Grand Slam champion Margaret Court decided to take him up on his offer.

On May 13th, 1973, a few months after giving birth, Margaret Court battled Bobby Riggs in Ramona, California. Creating hype for the match, Riggs had told media (as quoted by Sports Illustrated),

“This match is unbelievable. The eyes and ears of the world are on me. I am the greatest money player in history. I am the finest defensive player in the game. Margaret is the biggest hitter of the girls. What a match! Nobody has a clue how it will go. The mystery of the age. What a deal!”

On the day of the battle, Riggs handed Court a 6-2, 6-1 defeat in front of 3,500 audience members and around 10 million TV viewers. This match was dubbed the ‘Mother’s Day Massacre’. After his victory over Court, Riggs restated his desire to compete against Billie Jean King, saying,

“Don’t ever count me out. Now I want King bad. I’ll play her on clay, grass, wood, cement, marble or roller skates. We got to keep this sex thing going. I’m a women specialist now. I’m going around the world to challenge all the women champions. England, France, Czechoslovakia, everywhere. Me against them, battles of sexes. I’ve found a whole different life.”

Afraid of the negative impact that Court's loss could have, King finally accepted Riggs' challenge and the most famous Battle of the Sexes tennis match was birthed.

King and Riggs crossed swords on September 20, 1973 at the Houston Astrodome in Texas. While the clash between Riggs and Court had drawn a fair amount of attention, the battle between Riggs and King quickly grew into a major sporting event, with the American Broadcasting Company paying $700,000 to televise the match.

Ahead of the clash, Riggs stated that he wanted ‘to prove that women are lousy, they stink and they don’t belong on the same court as a man.’ He also hyped up the importance of the battle, saying in a pre-match press conference,

“This isn’t just a tennis match..It’s a battle of the sexes and the gladiator of the men happens to be me, a 55-year old man with one foot in the grave.”

For her part, Billie Jean King showed that she was well prepared for the match, saying,

“I’m taking this match very seriously. I love to win. I welcome the responsibility and the pressure. Bobby had better be ready.”

On game day, King handed Riggs a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 defeat in front of 30,000 people and 90 million viewers, marking a major moment for the growth of women's tennis.

Modern Battle of the Sexes matches: Players, results and more

Serena Williams at the US Open Tennis 1998 (Image Source: Getty)

Almost two decades after Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs historic match, 35-year-old Martina Navratilova played 40-year-old Jimmy Conners. The match, which took place in 1992, was called the ‘The Battle of Champions’ with rules dictating that Connors was only allowed one serve, while Navratilova had access to the doubles court. The 18-time Grand Slam champion forgoed playing in the doubles court but she was handed a 7-5 6-2 defeat after a commendable fight.

A handful of years after this, the Williams sisters took on Karsten Braasch in another Battle of the Sexes clash. The event took place in 1998, with Braasch defeating Serena Williams 6-1 and Venus Williams 6-2.

The most recent clash Battle of the Sexes match took place in 2023. After Marta Kostyuk pulled out from an exhibition match against Mirra Andreeva, the organizers asked men’s singles World No. 1145 Yanis Ghazouani Durand to step in. Andreeva, ranked No.57 in the world, put up a laudable fight but was ousted 7-5, 6-2.

Now, Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios are set to engage in yet another Battle of the Sexes encounter and fans will be curious to see where it leads.

Edited by Riddhi Acharya