Riggs had originally challenged Billie Jean King, but she had declined, regarding the challenge as a fatuous gimmick. Following Court's loss to Riggs, King decided to accept his challenge, and the two met in the Houston Astrodome on prime time television on Thursday, September 20, in a match billed as "The Battle of the Sexes". The oddsmakers and writers favored Riggs; he built an early lead, but King won in straight sets (6–4, 6–3, 6–3) for the $100,000 winner-take-all prize.