Bobby Riggs Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In what year was Bobby Riggs born?
A. 1915
B. 1918
C. 1922
D. 1925
Answer: B. 1918
Q2. At what age did Bobby Riggs begin taking tennis lessons?
A. 8
B. 11
C. 12
D. 14
Answer: C. 12
Q3. By age 18, Bobby Riggs had achieved what ranking in the United States?
A. No. 1
B. No. 4
C. No. 7
D. No. 10
Answer: B. No. 4
Q4. In which year did Bobby Riggs become the world No. 1 amateur tennis player?
A. 1937
B. 1938
C. 1939
D. 1941
Answer: C. 1939
Q5. What unique achievement did Bobby Riggs accomplish at the 1939 Wimbledon Championships?
A. Winning only the singles title
B. Winning the singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles titles (a triple crown)
C. Reaching the finals in all three events but winning none
D. Winning the singles and doubles but losing in mixed doubles
Answer: B. Winning the singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles titles (a triple crown)
Q6. Who was Bobby Riggs’s partner when he won the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon in 1939?
A. Elwood Cooke
B. Don Budge
C. Jack Kramer
D. Pancho Gonzales
Answer: A. Elwood Cooke
Q7. With whom did Bobby Riggs win the mixed doubles title at the 1939 Wimbledon Championships?
A. Margaret Court
B. Billie Jean King
C. Alice Marble
D. Maureen Connolly
Answer: C. Alice Marble
Q8. How many U.S. National Championships (now U.S. Open) singles titles did Bobby Riggs win?
A. One
B. Two
C. Four
D. Five
Answer: B. Two
Q9. In 1939, Bobby Riggs reached the final of which Grand Slam tournament but lost?
A. Wimbledon
B. U.S. National Championships
C. French Championships
D. Australian Championships
Answer: C. French Championships
Q10. Bobby Riggs helped the United States win the Davis Cup in which year?
A. 1937
B. 1938
C. 1939
D. 1940
Answer: B. 1938
Q11. When did Bobby Riggs turn professional?
A. 1939
B. 1951
C. 1946
D. 1941
Answer: D. 1941
Q12. Bobby Riggs was ranked world No. 1 professional in which two years?
A. 1942 and 1946
B. 1946 and 1947
C. 1947 and 1949
D. 1949 and 1951
Answer: B. 1946 and 1947
Q13. What was Bobby Riggs’s height, which made him shorter than many top competitors of his era?
A. 5’5″ (165 cm)
B. 5’7″ (170 cm)
C. 5’9″ (175 cm)
D. 5’11” (180 cm)
Answer: A. 5’5″ (165 cm)
Q14. Which element was NOT a key part of Bobby Riggs’s playing style?
A. Exceptional speed and court coverage
B. Powerful baseline groundstrokes
C. Masterful use of drop shots and lobs
D. Strategic ball placement and variety of pace
Answer: B. Powerful baseline groundstrokes
Q15. What nickname or self-description did Bobby Riggs often use to highlight his showmanship and gambling tendencies?
A. The Tennis Professor
B. The Baseline King
C. The Happy Hustler
D. The Silent Strategist
Answer: C. The Happy Hustler
Q16. In 1973, Bobby Riggs defeated which women’s tennis star in a match dubbed the “Mother’s Day Massacre”?
A. Billie Jean King
B. Chris Evert
C. Margaret Court
D. Evonne Goolagong
Answer: C. Margaret Court
Q17. Where was the famous 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King held?
A. Madison Square Garden, New York
B. Wimbledon, London
C. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
D. Houston Astrodome, Texas
Answer: D. Houston Astrodome, Texas
Q18. On what date did Billie Jean King defeat Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes?
A. May 13, 1973
B. July 4, 1973
C. September 20, 1973
D. October 25, 1973
Answer: C. September 20, 1973
Q19. What was the final score of Billie Jean King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes?
A. 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
B. 6–2, 6–1
C. 7–5, 6–4, 6–3
D. 6–3, 6–2, 6–4
Answer: A. 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Q20. How many spectators attended the Battle of the Sexes match in person at the Astrodome?
A. Approximately 10,000
B. Approximately 30,472
C. Approximately 50,000
D. Approximately 75,000
Answer: B. Approximately 30,472
Q21. What theatrical entrance did Bobby Riggs make for the Battle of the Sexes match?
A. Riding in on a horse
B. Entering on a rickshaw pulled by women, wearing a “Sugar Daddy” jacket
C. Arriving by helicopter
D. Walking in while juggling tennis balls
Answer: B. Entering on a rickshaw pulled by women, wearing a “Sugar Daddy” jacket
Q22. After losing to Billie Jean King, what did Bobby Riggs admit about his performance?
A. “I played my best but she was just better on that day.”
B. “I was distracted by the spectacle.”
C. “The crowd was against me from the start.”
D. “I underestimated Billie Jean and overestimated myself.”
Answer: D. “I underestimated Billie Jean and overestimated myself.”
Q23. In addition to tennis, what other sport did Bobby Riggs enjoy and sometimes gamble on?
A. Golf
B. Basketball
C. Soccer
D. Boxing
Answer: A. Golf
Q24. Bobby Riggs was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in what year?
A. 1955
B. 1967
C. 1975
D. 1985
Answer: B. 1967
Q25. What health issue did Bobby Riggs battle starting in 1988, leading him to found a foundation for awareness?
A. Heart disease
B. Prostate cancer
C. Arthritis
D. Diabetes
Answer: B. Prostate cancer