‘They Want Attention’ – When Billie Jean King Slammed ‘Superbrat’ John McEnroe Over His Controversial Serena Williams Statement

Hall of Fame tennis player Billie Jean King was one of the most prominent figures in women’s tennis, as she paved the way for establishing the WTA during her playing days. Her match against Bobby Riggs garnered plenty of attention from the media, as it was famously called the ‘Battle of the Sexes’.

Notably, Hollywood made a movie about this historical event in 2017, called ‘Battle of the Sexes’. During that time, King talked about that event, as she did not want it to be a gender-related topic. Moreover, she took a dig at the ‘Superbrat’ John McEnroe for his controversial remarks on Serena Williams as well.

Billie Jean King took a dig at John McEnroe for his comments on Serena Williams

In 2017, the 12-time singles Grand Slam champion, Billie Jean King, said, “I didn’t want to play Bobby Riggs. I hate this man-versus-women thing. I want us to be together. It gets me crazy. We can’t beat them. The top women cannot beat the top men. We never claimed we did. Ever. They keep bringing it up.“

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Later she slammed McEnroe for his comments on Serena Williams, as she said, “They want attention. We’re talking about John. He gets exactly what he wants. It’s attention and fear.“

Notably, McEnroe earlier said that Serena would “struggle to make the top 700” in men’s tennis. This statement created plenty of controversies, which forced a reaction from Serena as well. She said, “Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.”

Notably, Serena also had her baby at that time, as she gave birth to her daughter Olympia. Incredibly, she won the Australian Open that year while carrying Olympia. Although McEnroe did say that Serena was the greatest female tennis player ever, he did not apologize for his comments.

The famous ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match

The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs took place in 1973 in Houston, in front of 30,472 people. Moreover, the match garnered around 90 million views on Worldwide television.

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In that match, the 29-year-old King beat the 55-year-old Riggs in straight sets; the final score was 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Later, King revealed that Riggs was one of her idols, as she felt nervous before the match. As for Riggs, he did a lot of trash talking before the match, but he showed great respect for King after losing to her.

This victory changed the whole landscape of women’s tennis, as King went on to create the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and became its first President. In her career, King won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 27 doubles titles.