"Man is the supreme king": The day Bobby Riggs humiliated Margaret Court on Mother's Day

In 1973, a 55-year-old former champion provoked the women's tennis world with sexist remarks from another era. A few weeks later, he humiliated Margaret Court in the first Battle of the Sexes.

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Jules Hypolite

le 23/12/2025 à 20h36

2 min to read

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In 1973, Bobby Riggs, then aged 55, stood out less for his athletic performances than for a series of openly sexist statements.

"Man is the supreme king," he declared, before provoking even further: he said he liked women "in the bedroom and in the kitchen, in that order," believing that "the best way to take care of them" was to keep them "pregnant and barefoot."

Although he had been away from the courts for over a decade, he then issued a resounding challenge: according to him, no active female player would be capable of beating a male player, even a retired one.

May 13, 1973: The "Mother's Day Massacre"

These statements eventually convinced Margaret Court, a dominant figure in women's tennis in the 1960s and 1970s, to take up the challenge. The match was organized in Ramona, California, on a highly symbolic date: May 13, 1973, Mother's Day.

For her participation, the Australian received $20,000 (equivalent to $145,000 in 2025), a sum far exceeding the prize money offered by women's Grand Slam tournaments at the time.

Despite an exceptional record and world No. 1 status, Court never managed to impose her game. Broadcast nationally by CBS Sports, the match quickly turned in Riggs' favor. Unable to counter the American's tactics, consisting of drop shots and variations, she lost heavily (6-2, 6-1), in a match quickly renamed the "Mother's Day Massacre."

The full feature available this weekend

Find the full feature "The Battle of the Sexes: From a Fight for Equality to a Media Spectacle" on TennisTemple on Saturday, December 27.