Bobby Riggs

I've got to have a bet going in order to play my best.

I have to admit, I underestimated Billie Jean and overestimated myself.

I am the greatest money player in history.

I am the finest defensive player in the game.

I'm a woman specialist now. I'm going around the world to challenge all the woman champions. England, France, Czechoslovakia, everywhere.

I'm like a fire hose when the alarm goes off in a battle against a woman. Don't ever count me out.

This Martina Navratilova is a real champion, but with the proper training, I can make miracles happen.

The bigger the bet, the better I played.

I once played amateur tournament tennis six months without double-faulting.

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.

I consider myself just a lovable old man who just loves women. I've reversed 100 percent.

I like women. I like them so much, I think every man should own two.

Ali reversed the decision in a second fight with Joe Frazier. That's what would happen if I played Billie Jean again.

Billie Jean just caught me on a bad day.

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.

The drop shots and lobs are very effective in senior tennis.

The second-worst thing in the world is betting on a golf game and losing. The worst is not betting at all.

I'm always ready to play for money.

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.

I love the excitement, the center stage, the limelight.

I couldn't care less about clothes or cars.

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.

It's no disgrace to play against the world's champions and lose by one service break in the last two sets.

I never quit hustling.

Women who can, do. Those who can't become feminists.

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.

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.

Evel Knievel bet me $25,000 I couldn't ride a motorcycle 650 miles from Las Vegas to Twin Falls, Idaho.

The proudest thing I have ever done was to win the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at Wimbledon.

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.

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.

Never underestimate opponents.

I never had any initiative or drive to be a success in business.

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.

If I am to be a chauvinist pig, I want to be the number one pig.

Billie and I did wonders for women's tennis. They owe me a piece of their checks.

All my life, everything has been a contest.

Women play about twenty-five percent as good as men, so they should get about twenty-five percent of the money men get.

My biggest problem is overconfidence.

I like to be at the top of the ratings.

I scouted all the girls at Wimbledon. I wasn't impressed.

I always rise to the occasion for that big bet.

Pressure makes me produce. Kills most guys. Mortifies 'em.

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.

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.

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.

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.

People said I was tanking, but Billie Jean beat me fair and square.

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.

No. 1, women should be in the bedroom. No. 2, get to the kitchen. No. 3, support the man, support the king.