ABSTRACT
On 20 September 1973, Billie Jean King stood across the net from Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome. She was 29, a five-time Wimbledon champion, No.1 in the world, and a leading figure in both women’s sports and the political movement for women’s equality. He was 55, a has-been former winner of Wimbledon and the US Open, a tennis hall-of-famer and known for his chauvinistic comments – for example, ‘Women belong in the bedroom and kitchen, in that order’ (Roberts 2005, p.92). The occasion of their meeting was an exhibition match that became known as the “Battle of the Sexes”.
