“Billie Jean King is one of the all-time tennis greats; she’s one of the superstars. She’s ready for the big one, but she doesn’t stand a chance against me. Women’s tennis is so far beneath men’s tennis; that’s what makes the contest with a 55-year-old man the greatest contest of all time.”
― Bobby Riggs
“If I am to be a chauvinist pig, I want to be the number one pig.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Women’s tennis? I think it stinks. They hit the ball back and forth, have a lot of nice volleys, and you can see some pretty legs. But it’s night and day compared to men’s tennis.”
― Bobby Riggs
“No. 1, women should be in the bedroom. No. 2, get to the kitchen. No. 3, support the man, support the king.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I’m a woman specialist now. I’m going around the world to challenge all the woman champions. England, France, Czechoslovakia, everywhere.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Never underestimate opponents.”
― Bobby Riggs
“The best poker game is seven-card stud, high-low splits. I mean, it’s the best if you don’t have to declare high or low, and can win it all with a low straight.”
― Bobby Riggs
“No woman ever lived who could compete with a man on an equal basis – even a 55-year-old man. There’s a lot of talk about Women’s Lib. They feel they’re worth as much as the guys, but they can’t play a lick if they can’t beat a 55-year-old guy.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Women belong in the bedroom and the kitchen, in that order.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Women play about twenty-five percent as good as men, so they should get about twenty-five percent of the money men get.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I consider myself just a lovable old man who just loves women. I’ve reversed 100 percent.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Billie Jean just caught me on a bad day.”
― Bobby Riggs
“The man is king. The man is supreme.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Senior tennis is like the younger game in slow motion. It is much more of a backcourt game. The player who had a big game in his prime finds it harder to play that same game as a senior. But any senior who could lob well when he was young can still hit a good lob.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I love the excitement, the center stage, the limelight.”
― Bobby Riggs
“If I can’t play for big money, I play for a little money. And if I can’t play for a little money, I stay in bed that day.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Billie and I did wonders for women’s tennis. They owe me a piece of their checks.”
― Bobby Riggs
“All my life, everything has been a contest.”
― Bobby Riggs
“The best way to handle women is to keep them pregnant and barefoot.”
― Bobby Riggs
“My biggest problem is overconfidence.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I like to be at the top of the ratings.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I scouted all the girls at Wimbledon. I wasn’t impressed.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I always rise to the occasion for that big bet.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Pressure makes me produce. Kills most guys. Mortifies ’em.”
― Bobby Riggs
“To be a winner, you’ve got to be an appraiser. You’ve got to be able to play at your best under pressure. And more money creates more pressure. Money is the finest fuel in the world.”
― Bobby Riggs
“If you’re betting all the time, everything is just another bet. You don’t even think about the money after you’ve made the arrangements. You’re used to it.”
― Bobby Riggs
“That’s the trouble with the women’s game. Those women think they’re men, and they go off hitting all over the place. They’d be better off if they’d played like women.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I don’t want to be the guy who sits on a front porch with a mint julep in his hand and rocks his life away.”
― Bobby Riggs
“People said I was tanking, but Billie Jean beat me fair and square.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Women should do kitchen work and take care of babies.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I’m out to prove that a guy 55 years old, with one foot in the grave, can play with the best woman in the world and maybe beat her. It’ll be a big boost for men’s superiority.”
― Bobby Riggs
“An old ham like me needs to be on stage.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I’ll never play for more than I can afford to lose.”
― Bobby Riggs
“When I don’t enjoy it anymore, I’ll stop. But I think as long as people want me to be where the action is, I’ll be there. I just love to play tennis.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I like to bet on as close to a sure thing as you can find.”
― Bobby Riggs
“The drop shots and lobs are very effective in senior tennis.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I have to admit, I underestimated Billie Jean and overestimated myself.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I am the greatest money player in history.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I am the finest defensive player in the game.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I’m like a fire hose when the alarm goes off in a battle against a woman. Don’t ever count me out.”
― Bobby Riggs
“This Martina Navratilova is a real champion, but with the proper training, I can make miracles happen.”
― Bobby Riggs
“The bigger the bet, the better I played.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I once played amateur tournament tennis six months without double-faulting.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I like women. I like them so much, I think every man should own two.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Ali reversed the decision in a second fight with Joe Frazier. That’s what would happen if I played Billie Jean again.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I’ve got to have a bet going in order to play my best.”
― Bobby Riggs
“The second-worst thing in the world is betting on a golf game and losing. The worst is not betting at all.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I’m always ready to play for money.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I’ve played this game from 12-under to the over-70s. So when they say tennis is a game from the cradle to the grave, you truly have it right.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I couldn’t care less about clothes or cars.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I know beating a woman isn’t like winning seven gold medals. But how many old guys are there in the world? You think they can relate to Mark Spitz? They relate to me, Bobby Riggs.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I never had any initiative or drive to be a success in business.”
― Bobby Riggs
“It’s no disgrace to play against the world’s champions and lose by one service break in the last two sets.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I never quit hustling.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Women who can, do. Those who can’t become feminists.”
― Bobby Riggs
“I said a lot of things about which I was wrong. Now I have to sit back and take what’s coming, and I will. I still like women in the bedrooms and kitchens in that order, but some of them can do other things.”
― Bobby Riggs
“My philosophy is to make an offer that the other guy can’t refuse, because he thinks there’s no way he can’t win.”
― Bobby Riggs
“Evel Knievel bet me $25,000 I couldn’t ride a motorcycle 650 miles from Las Vegas to Twin Falls, Idaho.”
― Bobby Riggs
“The proudest thing I have ever done was to win the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at Wimbledon.”
― Bobby Riggs
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