Billie Jean King, Forest Hills, and the Real Battle for Equality

On a warm September evening in 1973, the world gathered around televisions and radios for a spectacle that was part sport, part social revolution. The Battle of the Sexes, starring Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, unfolded not only on the tennis courts, but in the hearts and minds of millions. While the most famous match took place in Houston’s Astrodome, the roots and impact of this moment are etched deeply into New York City—specifically, the grass courts of Forest Hills, Queens.

Forest Hills isn’t just another picturesque New York neighborhood with its Tudor homes and leafy streets. For decades, the West Side Tennis Club here was the site of the U.S. Open, and a proving ground for legends. Billie Jean King, born in Long Beach, California, first made her mark on these very courts in 1967, capturing her first Grand Slam singles title. But her influence here extended far beyond athletic triumph. In 1972, thanks to King’s relentless activism, the U.S. Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money to male and female players—a seismic shift in the world of sports, and a harbinger of broader social change.

By 1973, King was not just a champion; she was the face of a movement. The Women’s Tennis Association, which she helped found that year, was demanding equality and respect in a sport that often treated women as second-class competitors. Into this charged atmosphere stepped Bobby Riggs—a former Wimbledon champion, gambler, and unabashed showman. Riggs, at 55, saw a chance to stir the pot and maybe turn a profit. He challenged King and her peers, boasting that even in retirement, he could defeat the best women’s players. After trouncing Margaret Court, the world’s top-ranked woman, Riggs turned his attention to King.

The showdown was set for September 20, 1973. While the match was played in Houston, it resonated deeply in New York, where King had already helped transform tennis and the conversation around gender equality. The event was pure spectacle: King arrived Cleopatra-style on a golden litter; Riggs entered in a rickshaw, flanked by models. But beneath the circus atmosphere, the stakes were real. For King, for women athletes, and for those who believed in equality, this was about more than tennis. "I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match," King later recalled. "It would ruin the women’s tour and affect all women’s self-esteem."

On the court, King’s focus was unwavering. She weathered Riggs’s trademark drop shots and lobs, outmaneuvering him in straight sets: 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. More than 90 million people watched as she delivered not just a sporting victory, but a cultural milestone. Newspapers the next day didn’t just report on a tennis match—they declared a symbolic victory for women’s rights.

King’s ties to New York remained strong. She returned to Forest Hills many times, both as a competitor and an advocate. In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in nearby Flushing Meadows was renamed in her honor, cementing her legacy in the city where she helped rewrite the rules.

What’s often overlooked is King’s graciousness in victory. She credited Riggs for amplifying the conversation around women’s sports, even if his motives were, at best, self-interested. Over the years, the two developed a mutual respect—proof that sometimes, even the fiercest rivalries can yield unexpected friendships.

So when you walk past the old West Side Tennis Club or take in a match at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, remember that the story of the Battle of the Sexes is more than a headline from the past. It’s the story of a woman who turned the tennis court into a platform for change, and a city that witnessed history—one serve at a time.