In the immediate aftermath, Riggs said he underestimated King. “Every time I thought I had won the point in our exchanges, she kept it,” he said.
Later there were accusations from Riggs deliberately threw the match, external to pay off his gambling debts to the mafia.
Whatever the circumstances, King’s victory has stuck in the public mind. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t tell her about the Battle of the Sexes.
“When I first met President Obama in the Oval Office, he said, ‘I saw that game when I was 12. I have two daughters now and it made a difference in the way I raise them,’” King said.
“The women who saw it, it gave them strength and confidence.
“And the men come to me and they are the ones who are very emotional – sometimes they have tears in their eyes.”
King and Riggs, who died in October 1995, kept in touch afterward and he remained a sporting hero to her.
“We kept in touch and the night before he died I had a great conversation with him,” King said.
‘He finally understood that it was about history. I always told him it was about history, and he said no, it was about money.
“He told me he loved me and the next day he died.”
King finished her career with 39 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
But she is just as remembered for her fight for equality in sports, and beating Riggs was a crucial part of that.
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