American tennis legend Jimmy Connors was one of the best in his playing days. The 70-year-old has eight Grand Slam titles to his name. Although he is one of the most respectable and accomplished members of the tennis fraternity, he still has a stain to his name. In his book, the former world number one admitted to gambling in one of his own exhibition matches.

The American played against Martina Navratilova in the third battle of the sexes match. With a lot of money on offer, Connors also admitted to gambling in that match. Here’s what happened.

When Connors admitted having done gambling

A long time after his retirement, Jimmy Connors decided to pen down his life journey in a book. It had all the sweet and bitter memories from his illustrious tennis career. However, there’s a dark part to it too. The former world number one admitted in his book that he bet $1 million in his battle of sexes match against Martina Navratilova. Here’s the detail of the event he provided in his memoir ‘The Outsider’.

“I had no shortage of offers to play exhibitions, the most lucrative being my Challenge Match with Martina Navratilova in Vegas for the Battle of the Sexes II, almost 20 years after the original, starring Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King,” Connors wrote.

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Further, he explained how he met a bookie, which prompted him to place the bet. “I stopped to see the bookie at Caesars Palace from the practice court. “I wanna lay a bet. Me to win, straight sets, losing no more than eight games.” The bookie calculates the odds and they sound good to me. “How much do you want to stake, Mr. Connors?” “A million bucks.” “Consider it done, Mr. Connors. Nuts. Absolutely f**king n*ts” Connors went on to win the match in straight sets, but the admission later has surely tarnished his image.

Jimmy Connors’ take on modern-day tennis

With the retirement of two high-profile players, Serena and Federer, tennis is gradually moving towards a new generation of tennis players. While Djokovic and Nadal are still there, they are in the last phase of their careers. Jimmy Connors believes that with time, the game of tennis has become ‘impoverished’.

The eight-time Grand Slam champion believes that the modern generation of players lacks that intensity and hunger to win every match. Further, he was critical of current-generation players who put all their focus on the Grand Slam events and treat others as just practice matches. The former world number 1 claimed that every match mattered equally in their time, which is why they had great rivalries.

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