“It humbles a lot of men,” Coco Gauff’s blunt truthbomb takes us back to Billie Jean King’s epic Battle of the Sexes win

The NBA all-star weekend recently hosted a friendly male vs. female duel in the form of a 3-point NBA-WNBA Challenge where Stephen Curry faced off against Sabrina Ionescu. 

It reminded a lot of tennis fans about the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs that changed the course of women’s tennis forever. 

For the uninitiated, 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, who was a former men’s World No. 1, faced 29-year-old Billie Jean King, who was then the second highest-ranked women’s tennis player in the world, on September 20, 1973, inside the Astrodome in Houston. 

It is, to date, the highest-watched tournament in the history of tennis, with more than 90 million fans tuning in to watch the spectacle. Billie Jean King ended up defeating Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Notably, it was a historic moment in women’s tennis as, after that, people started taking it seriously. 

After the match between Stephen Curry and Sabrina lonescu, American tennis player Coco Gauff suggested that they should have similar ATP vs. WTA skill-based challenges in tennis as well. The youngster suggested having a serve-target challenge between Serena Williams and Nick Kyrgios and possibly a drop-shot challenge between Carlos Alcaraz and Ons Jabeur. 

The current WTA No. 3 also said that having male vs. female tennis matches would also go a long way in humbling a lot of misogynistic men. 

I just hope they continue to do this. It just humbles a lot of men in the world. I really like that.
Coco Gauff said. (Source: France24)

Coco Gauff is set to Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round of the Dubai Open

Coco Gauff will face Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round of the 2024 Dubai Open. The American is the third seed in the tournament, and she will look to get a positive result after a series of disappointing performances in 2024 so far. 

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Coco Gauff (Image via CNN)

After winning the ASB Classic by defeating Elina Svitolina in the final, Coco Gauff fell to Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the 2024 Australian Open. Following that, she lost to Katerina Siniakova in the very first round of the 2024 Qatar Open, which was hands down her most unexpected loss in recent times. 

In order to move on from that defeat, Coco Gauff will now have to perform exceptionally well in the upcoming Dubai Open to head into the Indian Wells in good form.

The competition will not be easy at the Dubai Open, though, with the likes of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka also looking to lift the title.

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