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Fortnite
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For the battle royale version of the game, see Fortnite Battle Royale.
Fortnite
European box art
Developer(s)
Epic Games
People Can Fly
Publisher(s)
Epic Games[a]
Director(s)
Darren Sugg[1]
Artist(s)
Pete Ellis[2]
Composer(s)
Rom Di Prisco[3]
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Microsoft Windows
macOS
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
iOS
Release
2018
Genre(s)
Survival
Mode(s)
Single-player, multiplayer
Fortnite is a co-op sandbox survival game developed by Epic Games and People Can Fly and published by Epic Games. The game was released as a paid-for early access title for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on July 25, 2017, with a full free-to-play release expected in 2018. The retail versions of the game were published by Gearbox Publishing, while online distribution of the PC versions is handled by Epic's launcher.
Fortnite is set in contemporary Earth, where the sudden appearance of a worldwide storm causes 98% of the world's population to disappear, and zombie-like creatures rise to attack the remainder. Considered by Epic as a cross between Minecraft and Left 4 Dead, Fortnite has up to four players cooperating on various missions on randomly-generated maps to collect resources, build fortifications around defensive objectives that are meant to help fight the storm and protect survivors, and construct weapons and traps to engage in combat with waves of these creatures that attempt to destroy the objectives. Players gain rewards through these missions to improve their hero characters, support teams, and arsenal of weapon and trap schematics to be able to take on more difficult missions. The game is supported through microtransactions to purchase in-game currency that can be used towards these upgrades.
A standalone mode, Fortnite Battle Royale, based on the battle royale game genre but based on the core Fortnite gameplay, was released for the same platforms in September 2017.
Contents
[hide]
1 Synopsis
2 Gameplay
3 Development
3.1 History
3.2 Art and design
4 Reception
4.1 Sales
4.2 Accolades
5 References
6 External links
Synopsis
One day, 98% of Earth's population suddenly disappeared, and the remaining population found the skies covered in dense clouds, creating chaotic storms that dropped husks, humanoid zombie-like creatures, that attacked the living. The survivors found ways to construct "storm shields", a field that cleared the storm clouds from immediately overhead and reduced the attacks from husks, and used these to set up survivor bases across the globe. The player is a commander of one of these bases, charged with going out of the storm shield to find resources, survivors, and other allies to help expand their storm shield and find a way to return Earth to its normal state.
Gameplay
Currently, the paid-for product Fortnite provides two distinct modes: access to Fortnite Battle Royale, (which is also available as a separate free-to-play title) and the cooperative player-versus-environment "Save the World", which is unique to the main Fortnite game.
The "Save the World" mode is described as a co-op sandbox survival game and is about exploration, scavenging items, crafting weapons, building fortified structures, and fighting waves of encroaching monsters.[4] Tim Sweeney, Epic's founder, described the game as "Minecraft meets Left 4 Dead".[5] The game cycles between managing one's resources at a safe home base, and then going out on missions to complete quests as to collect resources and obtain rewards to advance the game's story.
In the meta-game, the player has an inventory of weapon and trap schematics, hero characters, defender characters, and support characters, along with collected resources. Schematics are used to construct weapons and traps when on the field. Hero characters represent characters from one of four classes that the player can use while on a mission, as well as used to undertake resource-gathering missions making them unavailable to use until they return from the mission. Defender characters can be summoned to help with defense but only if there are less than four players on a mission. Support characters are used to form various non-playable squads that provide passive bonuses to the player's attack strength, building speed, armor, and health, with additional benefits if the player can match certain characterization attributes within a squad. The player can spend different types of experience points and resources earned as mission rewards, from loot boxes (represented as llama pinatas), or other sources to level up and evolve schematics and characters. For weapons and traps, this generally boosts their effectiveness as well as unlocking additional attribute bonuses, while leveling up hero characters will unlock special skills the character has while in the field. Schematics and characters are generally assigned a rarity, which determines how much they can be leveled and evolved. A player's inventory of schematics and characters is limited, but players can opt to slot anyone they do not need into a collection book to gain rewards when certain collection sets are completed; use one or more of these schematics or characters to transform them into a new random item, or simply retire them to gain back experience points and other resources to free up the inventory slots.[6][7]
The player also can spend skill points, earned by completing missions, and technology points, earned over time, to unlock new skills and technologies in the game's skill and technologies trees. These can improve a player's base attributes, attributes that are shared with the other players while on missions, unlock higher levels of evolution for schematics and characters, open up new squad positions, or unlock general skills that players can use in the field. Collectively, the player's progress on these skill and technology trees, their squad composition, and their selected hero character make up the player's current "power level" which relates to what difficulty of missions the player should take and the game's matchmaking services. Also, players can review their current story progress and quests, which can include daily, side, and event quests, which when completed provide in-game currency or resources.
Mission is currently divided between four world locations, some available only after progressing far enough in the story, and special locations for timed events and for the Survive the Storm mode. Within a location are several possible mission areas that show the type of mission, the terrain it takes place on, its difficulty rating relative to the player's current power level, and whether the mission is currently under special "storm" conditions that throw random effects, like buffed husks or mini-bosses, into the mission but have potentially better rewards if completed. The player optionally can select a special site that automatically matches them with players at a similar power level and story progression on a random mission for added rewards.
Most missions take place on procedurally-generated landscapes. Most missions are based on locating site(s) representing the objectives on the map, build up fortifications around those locations, and then face off against several waves of husks that will try to destroy the objectives. During completion of these missions, players are generally given a "storm forecast" to know where husks will spawn in as to enhance fortification in that direction, though this direction can change in more difficult missions. Other missions are time-limited, requiring the players to locate and help a number of survivors, build out several radar towers, or clear out various encampment of husks scattered around the map before time runs out. These missions encourage the players to explore the map and farm for resources (either by searching objects or destroying them with an axe) used to build the fortifications, weapons, ammunition, and traps needed to defend or attack the husks. Players also frequently need to seek out bluglo, a special resource that does not carry over between maps to activate certain mission objectives. Some missions are considered a loss if the objective is destroyed or time runs out, while other missions allow the players to rework their fortifications and start their defense again if the objective is destroyed. Maps will frequently have optional objectives that are discovered through exploration, such as human survivors that need help. Completing these successfully earn immediate in-game rewards such as resources, weapons, and traps. Missions themselves may provide bonus objectives, such as by completing the mission within a certain in-game period, using a limited number of fortification pieces, or saving more survivors than the minimum necessary, which affects the qualify of rewards the players receive after the successful completion of the main mission.
During missions, players can make their fortifications from one of three base materials (wood, brick, and metal), and in a number of configurations, including floors/ceilings, walls, stairs, and ramps; players have the ability to edit these for more configurations, such as adding a door or window to a wall. Each fortification part can be upgraded with more resources of the same type to improve their durability, and when they are damaged, can be repaired by spending additional resources. Traps, which have a limited number of activation before they fall apart, can be placed on floors, walls, and ceilings, and arranged in means to make them more lethal or effective against husks. Traps may also include beneficial resources for players, such as healing pads, defender posts, and launch pads. Similarly, players can use a range of weapons but these have limited durability that drops as they are used or as a penalty if the player should be downed by husks and need to respawn without the help of allies. Players can construct new weapons, ammo, and traps from gathered resources, or find these from searching containers across the map. During missions, the game progresses through an accelerated day-night cycle; during the day, the husks are more passive and do not generally pose immediate threats, while during the night, bands of husks may spawn in and will aggressively seek out players.
One unique mission type is Storm Shield Defense missions. In each of the four world locations, the player is allocated a map that remains persistent, representing the site where their base's storm shield generator is placed, and in the storm mode, the player must return to this map to expand the storm shield, requiring them to add a new objective to defend successfully to continue the story. At any time, the player can enter this map without starting the defense mission, and use their carried-over resources to build out the fortification and traps, or add resources to a special storage area for this map.
Fortnite is also able to offer themed-events with a unique progression line, new locations, and rewards based on those themes. The first such event was its Halloween event, "Fortnitemares", that offered Halloween-themed heroes, characters, weapons, and traps (usable outside of the event) by completing numerous objectives.[8]
Development
History
Fortnite was first revealed at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards (VGA), with Epic's former design director Cliff Bleszinski introducing a trailer for the game.[9] Donald Mustard, creative lead at Epic, said in 2017 that this announcement was "three weeks after we came up with the idea, before we even made the game".[10] The title, which started out as an internal game jam project,[11] represents a departure from the company's previous work.[9] As Bleszinski explained during the Spike event, Epic wanted to "switch things up a little bit and do something different and fun" with Fortnite, describing it as "a world where you explore, you scavenge, you build and ultimately you survive."[9] In an interview with Engadget, he also echoed these statements, claiming that the game would be different from the Gears of War series: "There's no dudebros in it...Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? But creatively for the team, Gears has been amazing for us. But it's fun to kind of stretch our wings and do something that's a little different from the usual."[12] Epic Games Vice President of Publishing Mike Fischer said in 2015 that Epic recognized that they "announced this game too soon", and that its lengthy development period was due to "very good reasons."[13]
As the game was at its very preliminary stages at the VGA reveal, the goal of this reveal was to seek public interest in the title and potential publishing partners as to decide on the game's release platforms and timeframe.[14] During the July 2012 San Diego Comic Con, Epic announced that Fortnite would be an exclusive personal computer title, and the first one to be developed by Epic using their new Unreal 4 game engine, with a planned release in 2013.[15][16] The game's development was originally started in the Unreal 3 engine, but as they progressed, they had seen the opportunity to work in several of the new feature sets and scripting language offered by Unreal 4 for Fortnite, while still running on most personal computers at that time. They further opted for personal computer exclusivity to avoid the difficulty of having to go through console certification, and as they planned to be constantly monitoring and tweaking the game, acting as a dungeon master, the personal computer approach would allow them to do this without restrictions normally set by console manfuctures.[17] Bleszinski later clarified that they would not rule out release on other platforms as they developed the title.[18]
Fortnite cosplayers at Gamescom 2017
Fortnite's development was spread among several of Epic's satellite studios,[19] and was also co-developed by the Polish studio People Can Fly, which had worked with Epic previously on earlier games, and had been fully acquired by Epic sometime in 2012. People Can Fly were briefly renamed Epic Games Poland in 2013 as to align with Epic's other studios.[20][21] By March 2014, there were about 90 developers working on the game.[11] People Can Fly later returned to being an independent studio and their own name in 2015, but continued to help Epic with Fortnite's development.[22]
During Fortnite's development, Epic had seen the game industry shifting to games as a service model. To help with this transition, the company brought in Tencent who had several games operating under this model. As part of this agreement, Tencent bought a significant share of ownership in Epic Games through stock acquisition around June 2012.[23] The shifting of Epic's approach through Tencent led to the departure of some high-level staff later that year, including Bleszinski.[24] Fortnite was seen as the spearhead for Epic's games-as-a-service model as they collaborated with Tencent. This caused some road bumps in the development of Fortnite, according to Mustard.[23] Fortnite's development was also slowed as it was used as the testing ground for the new features of the Unreal 4 engine.[23]
By November 2013, Epic confirmed that Fortnite would not release that year, nor offered a target released date, though affirmed the game was still in development by several of its studios.[25] Fortnite was a feature in the May 2014 issue of Game Informer, revealing that the title would be released as a free-to-play game.[26]
By 2014, Fortnite was at a "pretty functional prototype" with most of the Unreal 4 engine elements smoothed out, according to Mustard.[23] Epic anticipated it would still take about three more years to complete, not only in polishing and balancing the game, but setting in place the necessary backend elements for the games-as-a-service model.[23] To help support development and get player feedback, Epic used a series of closed alpha test periods. The game's first closed alpha, called Online Test 1, ran from December 2 to 19, 2014, while Online Test 2 ran from March 24 to April 14, 2015.[27][28] Epic said the first alpha was designed to help it "make sure all of our basic systems are working" and establish "a baseline for how people play in order to make Fortnite better."[27] After being demoed at WWDC 2015 on Mac, Fortnite entered closed beta testing in the fall of 2015.[29] Approximately 50,000 players participated in these periods.[23]
Fortnite was being developed alongside Paragon, which Epic announced on November 2015. As Paragon seemed to take Epic's focus, leaving little news about Fortnite, CEO Tim Sweeney said in March 2016 that they were still committed to Fortnite once Paragon was launched and established, given that much of the work on Fortnite would take time to get the right balance for gameplay. "We figure we should start with one major successful launch and do one at a time. Fortnite will be next."[30]
By June 2017, Epic Games announced that Fortnite was now set for a 2018 release across Windows, macOS, and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. Leading up to this free-to-play release, the game was offered as a paid early access period starting on July 25, 2017 for all platforms; players who pre-ordered Founder's Packs were granted access to the game on July 21.[31][32] The lengthy period since the game's alpha phases was ascribed to developing Fortnite as a games-as-a-service model, according to creative lead Donald Mustard. While the game had been in a playable state for the two years before this, Epic wanted to be able to develop ongoing content to players to keep them interested in the title, such as planning timed events with unique rewards, following in the approach used by games like League of Legends and Warframe.[31] Since the game had already been announced earlier in 2014 through Game Informer, Epic opted not to use their Electronic Entertainment Expo time or space in June 2017 to re-announce the game, fearing that coverage of it would be lost in the deluge of other gaming news coming out of the event. Instead, the Epic marketing team worked with Twitch and other game streamers to provide them early copies of the game to play and promote on their channels in the weeks leading up to their target release date of July 25, 2017. However, a few weeks before this date, Epic recognized that the game was still not ready for release; it was playable but not content complete. Rather than prolonging it further, Epic decided to release the game into paid early access on July 25, 2017, which would also allow them to get active feedback on the game as they progressed in development.[33] At the time of the start of early access, Gearbox Software helped distribute the game on physical media.[34]
With the popularity of Fortnite Battle Royale, which was first released in early access around September 2017 and gained considerable attention by early 2018, Epic split off a separate development team to focus on improvements for this mode.[35] Epic said that their attention to Fortnite was causing some of their other games to see lower player populations, leading them to reduce development efforts on these games, particularly Paragon.[36] By the end of January 2018, Epic announced it was shutting down Paragon by April of that year, providing refunds to all players.[37] Players on a Fortnite-dedicated Reddit forum had expressed concerns that a similar fate could befall the Save the World mode of Fortnite, as externally, the Save the World mode has not received the same attention in providing updates and improvements compared to the Battle Royale mode since that mode's release.[38] Epic's Ed Zobrist said that as of March 2018 that the retention rates for "Save the World" have been high, and have grown since the release of Fortnite Battle Royale,[33] and the company has since improved communications with the player base, such as providing development road maps and known bug lists.[39]
Art and design
In their initial prototypes of the game, Epic had used creepier and darker designs for the husks and other enemies. Bleszinski said that they found this to create an "exhaustive environment" that was too grim, and designed to take the design in a more cartoonish approach, while still remaining creepy, so that players would enjoy spending time in the game's world, without competing with games like DayZ.[18] They used works from Pixar, Tim Burton, and Looney Tunes as inspiration for the designs.[18][40]
Fortnite uses procedural generation to build out the maps for each mission. The game also includes an "AI director" that monitors how players are progressing, and alters the challenges of the monsters it sends out to the players based on that progression, easing off if players are having greater difficulty in surviving.[41] At one point, the game had a team-based player versus player mode, where each side attempted to build up a base around a central target while trying to attack the opponent's target after breaking through their base. This did not make it into the final game.[41]
Epic currently has cross-platform play between PC and PS4 and has stated plans to allow separate Fortnite cross-platform support for Xbox One and personal computer users, but cross-platform play between all three platforms has not been announced. However, for a few hours during one day in September 2017, players found they could cross-play between all three platforms. Epic later corrected this, calling it a "configuration error".[42]
Reception
Sales
On July 26, 2017, it was announced that Fortnite had sold over 500,000 digital pre-order copies.[1] On August 18, 2017, Epic confirmed that Fortnite had surpassed over a million players.[43]
Accolades
Eurogamer ranked the game 32nd on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017".[44] It was also nominated for "Best Co-op Game" in PC Gamer's 2017 Game of the Year Awards,[45] and for "Best Spectator Game" in IGN's Best of 2017 Awards.[46]
Year
Award
Category
Result
Ref.
2017 The Game Awards 2017 Best Multiplayer Nominated [47]
2018 16th Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project (A Hard Day's Night) Nominated [48][49]
D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay Nominated [50][51]
SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Multiplayer Nominated [52][53]
Excellence in Gameplay Nominated
14th British Academy Games Awards Best Evolving Game Nominated [54][55]
Best Multiplayer Nominated
22nd Annual Webby Awards People's Voice Award for Best Multiplayer/Competitive Game Won [56]
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Jump up ^ Retail versions published by Gearbox Publishing
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Battle of the Sexes (tennis)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Battle of the Sexes I
Margaret Court vs. Bobby Riggs
Set
1
2
Margaret Court 2 1
Bobby Riggs 6 6
Date
May 13, 1973
Location
Ramona, California[1]
Battle of the Sexes II
Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs
Set
1
2
3
Billie Jean King 6 6 6
Bobby Riggs 4 3 3
Date
September 20, 1973
Location
Astrodome
Houston, Texas[2]
Battle of the Sexes III
Martina Navratilova vs. Jimmy Connors
Set
1
2
Martina Navratilova 5 2
Jimmy Connors 7 6
Date
September 25, 1992
Location
Caesars Palace
Las Vegas, Nevada[3]
In tennis, "Battle of the Sexes" is a term that has been used to describe various exhibition matches played between a man and a woman (or, in one case, a doubles match between two men and two women). Most famously, the term is used for a nationally televised match in 1973, held at the Houston Astrodome, between 55-year-old Bobby Riggs and 29-year-old Billie Jean King,[4] which King won in three sets.[2][5] The match attracted massive attention and was viewed by an estimated 90 million people around the world; King's win is considered a milestone in public acceptance of women's tennis.
Two other matches commonly referred to as a "battle of the sexes" include a match held four months earlier in 1973 between Riggs and Margaret Court, over the best of three sets,[1][6] and one in 1992 between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova, over the best of three sets and hybrid rules favoring the female player, dubbed "The Battle of Champions".[3]
At least eight other exhibition matches have been played between notable male and female tennis players, starting in 1888, though only some of them were referred to at the time as a "battle of the sexes".
Contents
[hide]
1 1973: Riggs v Court
2 1973: Riggs v King
2.1 Allegations of match-throwing
2.2 Effects on women's tennis
2.3 In popular culture
3 1992: Navratilova v Connors
4 Other matches of men against women
4.1 1888: Ernest Renshaw vs Lottie Dod
4.2 1922: Bill Tilden vs Suzanne Lenglen
4.3 1933: Helen Wills vs Phil Neer
4.4 1975: Challenge of the Sexes
4.5 1985: Battle of the Sexes: The Challenge! (doubles)
4.6 1998: Karsten Braasch vs. the Williams sisters
4.7 2003: Yannick Noah vs Justine Henin
4.8 2013: Novak Djokovic vs Li Na
5 Challenges that never came to be
6 References
1973: Riggs v Court[edit]
Riggs had been one of the world's top tennis players in the 1940s; he once held the top ranking and had won six major titles during his career. After he retired from professional tennis in 1951, Riggs remained a master promoter of himself and of tennis.[7] In 1973, he opined that the female game was inferior and that even at his current age of 55 he could still beat any of the top female players.[8]
Riggs first challenged Billie Jean King, but when she declined, Margaret Court stepped in. At the time in 1973, Court was 30 years old and the top female player in the world. On the day of their match on May 13,[9] 5,000 fans came to a Mother's Day match in Ramona, California.[6][1] Televised by CBS Sports,[10] Riggs descended the stadium steps and presented Court with Mother's Day flowers, which she accepted while curtsying.[11][12] Riggs used his drop shots and lobs to keep Court off balance. His quick victory (6–2, 6–1) landed Riggs on the cover of both Sports Illustrated and Time.[6][13]
1973: Riggs v King[edit]
Paraphernalia from the Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs match
Suddenly in the national limelight following his win over Court, Riggs taunted all female tennis players, prompting King to accept a lucrative financial offer to play Riggs in a nationally televised match in prime time on ABC that the promoters dubbed the "Battle of the Sexes."[14][15] The match, which had a winner-take-all prize of $100,000,[16] was held in Texas at the Houston Astrodome on Thursday, September 20, 1973.[2][17][18][19]
King entered the court in the style of Cleopatra, on a feather-adorned litter carried by four bare-chested muscle men dressed in the style of ancient slaves.[5] Riggs followed in a rickshaw drawn by a bevy of scantily clad models.[20] Riggs presented King with a giant Sugar Daddy lollipop, and she responded by giving him a squealing piglet,[21][22] symbolic of male chauvinism.[2] Riggs was given $50,000 to wear a yellow Sugar Daddy jacket during the match, which he took off after three games. Riggs also placed many bets on and invested a lot of money in the match.[23][21]
King, who also competed in the Virginia Slims of Houston during the same week, won in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3.[5] In the first set, she fell behind 3–2 when Riggs broke her serve.[24] In a 2015 interview, she said that most people do not remember that she was initially behind in the first set, and it looked bad for her in the early going. At this point, King realized that she "had to win" given the importance of the match,[25] and broke right back and again in the tenth game to close out the set.[24] She had learned from Court's loss and was ready for Riggs' game. Rather than playing her own usual aggressive game, King mostly stayed at the baseline, easily handling Riggs's lobs and soft shots, making him cover the entire court as she ran him from side to side and beat him at his own defensive style of play. After quickly failing from the baseline, where he had intended to play, Riggs dropped his comedic effect and showed a more serious demeanor, as he was forced to change to a serve-and-volley game.[26]
A few critics were less than impressed by King's victory; she was 26 years younger, and some experts claimed that it was more an age versus youth game. According to Jack Kramer, "I don't think Billie Jean played all that well. She hit a lot of short balls which Bobby could have taken advantage of had he been in shape. I would never take anything away from Billie Jean—because she was smart enough to prepare herself properly—but it might have been different if Riggs hadn't kept running around. It was more than one woman who took care of Bobby Riggs in Houston." Before the match, however, King had forced the American television network ABC to drop Kramer as a commentator. King said, "He doesn't believe in women's tennis. Why should he be part of this match? He doesn't believe in half of the match. I'm not playing. Either he goes—or I go."[27]
After the match, Pancho Segura declared that Riggs was only the third best senior player, behind himself and Gardnar Mulloy, and he challenged King to another match. King refused.[28] Despite some of the comments downplaying the loss by Riggs (or victory of King), following the match Riggs was "devastated" and isolated himself in his hotel room for four hours.
The match had an audience of an estimated 50 million in the U.S. and 90 million worldwide. The attendance in the Houston Astrodome was 30,472;[2] as of 2012, it remains the largest audience to see a tennis match in the United States.[29]
Allegations of match-throwing[edit]
There was also widespread speculation, based on Riggs' unusually poor play and large number of unforced errors, that Riggs had purposely lost the match in order to win large sums of money that he had bet against himself, as a way to pay off his gambling debts.[30] ESPN's Outside the Lines on August 25, 2013 featured a man who had been silent for 40 years who said he heard several members of the mafia talking about Riggs throwing the match in exchange for cancelling his gambling debt to the mob.[30] On the other hand, the article says Riggs' close friend and estate executor Lornie Kuhle vehemently denied he was ever in debt to the mob or received a payoff from them. The article also quotes Riggs' son who claims his father felt he had made a terrible mistake and was depressed for six months following the match. Riggs wanted a rematch but not King. He considered suing her as a rematch had been part of the contract. King and Riggs would appear together spoofing their rivalry less than two months after the match on an episode of The Odd Couple (titled "The Pig Who Came To Dinner") and they became good friends.[citation needed]
Kramer wrote, however, that "Billie Jean beat him fair and square. A lot of men—especially around our age—were so stunned when he lost that they figured he must have tanked. Budge is convinced of that. But what motive would Riggs have for that? Bobby Riggs, the biggest ham in the world, gets his greatest audience—and purposefully looks bad? There's no way. If he had beaten Billie Jean, he could have kept the act going indefinitely. Next they would have had him play Chrissy on clay." Selena Roberts claimed in her book documenting the match, A Necessary Spectacle, that Riggs later undertook a public polygraph test to prove he did not throw the match.[31]
Effects on women's tennis[edit]
King viewed the match as more than a publicity stunt, feeling that beating Riggs was important both for women's tennis and for the women's liberation movement as a whole. She said later, "I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn't win that match. It would ruin the women's tour and affect all women's self-esteem."[32] She believed that she had a destiny to work for gender equality in sports.[33]
Billie Jean was part of the Original 9, which formed the Virginia Slims Series, created because the women wanted to end inequality of pay between male and female victors.[34] These nine women created their own tournaments and played wherever they could. Eventually this turned into the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).[33]
In popular culture[edit]
In 2001, ABC aired a television film about the match between King and Riggs titled When Billie Beat Bobby, starring Holly Hunter and Ron Silver as King and Riggs respectively.
In 2013, New Black Films released the documentary movie Battle of the Sexes in cinemas, with television broadcast following soon after. It was directed by James Erskine and Zara Hayes. The film was released on DVD in 2014.
The 2017 film Battle of the Sexes, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, is about the King/Riggs match, and stars Emma Stone and Steve Carell as King and Riggs, respectively.[35]
1992: Navratilova v Connors[edit]
Nineteen years later, a third "Battle of the Sexes" match, entitled Battle of Champions, was played in 1992.[36] Outdoors at Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada, it matched 40 year-old Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova, age 35. Navratilova had previously turned down invitations to take on John McEnroe and Ilie Năstase, as she considered them undignified.[37] The promoters initially tried to match Connors with the then top-ranked female player, Monica Seles. Connors called the match 'war.' Navratilova, on the other hand, called it a battle of egos.[38]
A pay-per-view telecast,[36][39] the match was played on Friday night, September 25, under hybrid rules to make it more competitive; Connors was allowed only one serve per point, and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half of the doubles alleys.[36][39] Each player received a $650,000 guarantee, with a further $500,000 for the winner.[39][40] Connors won 7–5, 6–2,[41] as Navratilova made eight double faults and 36 unforced errors. Connors, too, was nervous and there was a rumor that he had placed a bet on himself to win at 4:1.[42] According to Connors' book The Outsider, he placed a million-dollar bet that he would lose no more than eight games.[43]
Other matches of men against women[edit]
1888: Ernest Renshaw vs Lottie Dod[edit]
In 1888, the Wimbledon's men's champion, Ernest Renshaw, played a handicap match against the ladies' champion, Lottie Dod, where Dod was starting each game with a 30–0 advantage. The match was played in Exmouth, England, and ended with Renshaw's victory—2–6, 7–5, 7–5.[44]
1922: Bill Tilden vs Suzanne Lenglen[edit]
On May 27, 1921 Bill Tilden and Suzanne Lenglen played a match at Saint Cloud, France. It was only a single set but Tilden prevailed 6–0. When later asked about the match, Lenglen said, "Someone won 6–0, but I don't recall who it was."[45]
1933: Helen Wills vs Phil Neer[edit]
Former NCAA champion Phil Neer played a two-set match against Helen Wills on January 28, 1933, in San Francisco. Neer had been ranked nationally as high as No. 20 and had occasionally played mixed doubles with Wills. Wills had won at Wimbledon the year prior. Though Neer was only 32, Wills won the match 6–3, 6–4.[46][47]
1975: Challenge of the Sexes[edit]
October 26, 1975 a Challenge of the Sexes event was held in Mission Viejo, CA televised on CBS. It involved male and female athletes from various sports, such as Laura Baugh and Jane Blalock vs. Hale Irwin and Doug Sanders in golf, and Jerry West vs. Karen Logan in basketball. The tennis event pitted future Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade vs. Björn Borg, and Nastase vs. Evonne Goolagong. A single set was played where the men were limited to one serve and the women had the added area of the alleys for shot placement. Borg, Wade, and Goolagong entered the court in standard attire and demeanor, while Nastase entered wearing a dress. With Martina Navratilova also in the packed audience, Borg defeated Wade 6–2, but Goolagong defeated Nastase 7–5.[48]
1985: Battle of the Sexes: The Challenge! (doubles)[edit]
On August 23, 1985, at age 67, Riggs returned to the tennis spotlight when he partnered with Vitas Gerulaitis, at the time a top-20 player, to launch another challenge to female players. He challenged Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver to a doubles match. Navratilova said that she accepted because she believed she and Pam had no weaknesses when playing doubles, and that they were going to 'do a Billie' and win, especially given Riggs' age. The match took place at The Atlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Riggs' health had deteriorated somewhat from his last outing as he was now deaf in addition to his poor eyesight. Moreover, because Riggs was a finesse player and not a power player, the women expected that defeating him would be easier than a retired power player.[37] Riggs' return was short lived when the women won 6–3, 6–2, 6–4.[49]
Mike Penner (of The Los Angeles Times) wrote: "The great misconception about 'The Challenge!' was that it might actually serve as a legitimate proving ground for the sexes." The sports writer went on to point out that there were things keeping this match from being seriously viewed as a legitimate challenge. "First, it was a doubles match, not a one-on-one competition. The strategy is different in doubles, weaknesses can be more easily masked and stamina is not nearly so critical a factor." The other point to be made: "Riggs amounted to a 67-year-old ball-and-chain shackled to the ankle of Gerulaitis. Riggs couldn't serve, couldn't return serves, couldn't hit overheads with any amount of force. Older than the combined ages of Navratilova and Shriver, Riggs was painfully out of place in this match. Even John McEnroe, on his finest day, would be an underdog against Navratilova and Shriver if Riggs were his partner."[50]
1998: Karsten Braasch vs. the Williams sisters[edit]
Another event dubbed a "Battle of the Sexes" took place during the 1998 Australian Open[51] between Karsten Braasch and the Williams sisters. Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple bottles of ice cold lager".[52][51] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[53] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[54] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun".[55] Braasch said the big difference was that men can chase down shots much easier, and that men put spin on the ball that the women can't handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[51]
2003: Yannick Noah vs Justine Henin[edit]
In December 2003, Yannick Noah and Justine Henin played a friendly match at the Forest National in Brussels. Noah donned a dress for much of the match. He played predominantly trick shots and slices, but still ended up winning 4–6, 6–4, 7–6.[56]
2013: Novak Djokovic vs Li Na[edit]
In October 2013, Novak Djokovic and Li Na played a light-hearted exhibition mini set in Beijing, China to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the China Open. Djokovic clowned to the amusement of the crowd, and at one point swapped places with a ballboy. Li was given a 30–0 advantage at the start of each service game, and she went on to win 3–2.[57]
Challenges that never came to be[edit]
In 2013, Andy Murray responded to a Twitter user who asked whether he would consider challenging Serena Williams, saying, "I’d be up for it. Why not?" Williams also reacted positively to the suggestion, remarking "That would be fun. I doubt I’d win a point, but that would be fun."[58]
In August 2015, John McEnroe was interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. At that time, McEnroe was 56 years old but still active on the seniors tennis circuit, Serena Williams was 34 years old and in the chase for a "calendar-year" Grand Slam. McEnroe mentioned to Kimmel that about 15 years prior, Donald Trump had suggested that he would like to put together a "battle of the sexes" match between McEnroe and Williams. McEnroe said he would face Williams but that Trump was not offering a big enough payout. McEnroe said that he believed he could take Williams in a tennis match.[59]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c "Riggs "Courts" Margaret - then hustles a victory". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. May 14, 1973. p. 28.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Billie Jean slam-bangs Riggs to defeat". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. September 21, 1973. p. 1, sec. 1.
^ Jump up to: a b "Martina's miscues aid Connors' win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 26, 1992. p. 1B.
Jump up ^ Jares, Joe (September 10, 1973). "Riggs to riches - take two". p. 24.
^ Jump up to: a b c Kirkpatrick, Curry (October 1, 1973). "There she is, Ms. America". Sports Illustrated. p. 30.
^ Jump up to: a b c Kirkpatrick, Curry (May 21, 1973). "Mother's Day Ms. match". Sports Illustrated. p. 34.
Jump up ^ Daily Comprehension: February. Remedia Publications – via Google Books.
Jump up ^ "How Bobby Runs and Talks, Talks, Talks". Time. September 10, 1973. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
Jump up ^ Husar, John (May 13, 1973). "Riggs challenges Court in tennis match today". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
Jump up ^ "Can middleaged Bobby back up his big boast". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 13, 1973. p. 3C.
Jump up ^ The Battle of the Sexes. Performed by Amanda Edwards, Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs. United Kingdom, 2013. Film.
Jump up ^ "Mother's Day Massacre: Margaret Court vs Bobby Riggs". YouTube. (CBS Sports). May 13, 1973. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
Jump up ^ "Time Magazine Cover: Bobby Riggs—September 10, 1973".
Jump up ^ "Battle of the Sexes". Chicago Tribune. (advertisement). September 20, 1973. p. 5, sec. 3.
Jump up ^ "Riggs hopes to make it a King's ransom". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (New York Times). September 20, 1973. p. 24.
Jump up ^ "Riggs already winner - for talking". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. September 20, 1973. p. 31.
Jump up ^ Markus, Robert (September 20, 1973). "'Hogston' turns into Roman circus". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
Jump up ^ Kleiman, Carol (September 20, 1973). "Better sex wins". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 1.
Jump up ^ Adams, Cecil (December 17, 2010). "Was the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs fixed?". The Straight Dope.
Jump up ^ Roberts, Selena (September 20, 2008). "A ray of progress for women as Battle of the Sexes turns 35". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
^ Jump up to: a b Berkow, Ira (July 27, 1982). "PLAYERS; RIGGS SEES DOUBLE". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ Greenspan, Jesse (September 20, 2013). "Billie Jean King Wins the 'Battle of the Sexes,' 40 Years Ago". History.
Jump up ^ "First look at their period tennis drama 'Battle of the Sexes'".
^ Jump up to: a b "King whips Riggs in straight sets". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. September 21, 1973. p. 1D.
Jump up ^ "Billie Jean King." CNN Special Presentation—The 70s: Battle Of The Sexes. August 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Sport: How King Rained on Riggs' Parade". Time. October 1, 1973. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
Jump up ^ Buzinski, Jim. "King a True Pioneer, HBO Hits an Ace with Tennis Documentary". OutSports.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
Jump up ^ "USTA Northern California celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month". USTA Northern California. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Bobby Riggs Vs. Billie Jean King". Essortment.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b Van Natta Jr., Don (August 25, 2013). "The Match Maker". ESPN. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ A Necessary Spectacle. Roberts, Selena. Crown Books, 2005. ISBN 978-1-4000-5146-5
Jump up ^ Greenspan, Jesse (September 20, 2013). "Billie Jean King Wins the 'Battle of the Sexes,' 40 Years Ago". History.com. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Schwartz, Larry. "Billie Jean Won For All Women". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Billie Jean King." PBS. September 10, 2013. Accessed March 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ Jr, Mike Fleming (April 20, 2015). "Game, Set Match? Searchlight Serves Up 'Battle Of The Sexes;' Dayton & Faris Direct Emma Stone As Billie Jean King, Steve Carell As Bobby Riggs". deadline.com.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Connors, Martina get set for Battle of the Sexes". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 25, 1992. p. 3B.
^ Jump up to: a b Penner, Mike (March 10, 1985). "Navratilova, Shriver vs. Riggs, Gerulaitis: At Least, It's Different". The Los Angeles Times.
Jump up ^ Meyers, Kate (September 25, 1992). "Serve them up in Sin City". EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
^ Jump up to: a b c Newman, Bruce (October 5, 1992). "Scorecard: Double faux". Sports Illustrated. p. 9.
Jump up ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: TENNIS; Connors-Navratilova for $500,000". New York Times. July 29, 1992.
Jump up ^ "1992 Tennis Jimmy Connors Martina Navratilova B". YouTube. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
Jump up ^ "Scorecard: Double Faux". Sports Illustrated. October 5, 1992.
Jump up ^ Cronin, Matt (May 15, 2013). "Connors admits to million-dollar bet in match vs. Navratilova". Tennis. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
Jump up ^ Conner, Floyd (2002). "Battle of the Sexes". Tennis's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Baseline Blunders, Clay Court Wonders, and Lucky Lobs. Washington, DC: Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1-57488-363-3.
Jump up ^ Conner, Floyd (2002). Tennis's Most Wanted. Potomac Books.
Jump up ^ "USA Today: This day in sports". Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
Jump up ^ Ohnsorg, Roger (2011). Robert Lindley Murray: The Reluctant U.S. Tennis Champion. Trafford Publishing.
Jump up ^ "Goolagong 'Conquers' Nastase". New York Times. 1975.
Jump up ^ Sarni, Jim (August 24, 1985). "Women Win War Of Sexes". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
Jump up ^ Penner, Mike (September 1, 1985). "Tennis: Navratilova Admits she is no match for men". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b c "How to... beat both Williams sisters in one afternoon". The Guardian. September 2, 2001. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Serena Williams still savouring Andy Roddick 'win' 16 years on", OnTennis.com, posted January 22, 2009
Jump up ^ "Sister Act falls in Battle of Sexes". The Free Lance Star. January 27, 1998. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ "How to... beat both Williams sisters in one afternoon". September 1, 2001. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Welcome to Dispatch Online". Dispatch.co.za. November 12, 2010. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
Jump up ^ "Gilbert says Henin no match for low-ranked men". Tennis X.
Jump up ^ "Djokovic, Li Na put on a show in Battle of the Sexes at China Open". Sports Illustrated. October 10, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
Jump up ^ Hart, Simon (27 June 2013). "Wimbledon 2013: Serena Williams believes playing Andy Murray in a battle of the sexes 'would be fun'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
Jump up ^ Marszal, Andrew (21 August 2015). "John McEnroe: I could still beat Serena Williams". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
[show]
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