• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Betting Offers UK

Best Free Bets & Casino Sign Up Offers For 2022

  • Betting Offers
  • Free Bets
  • Casino Bonuses
  • Home
  • New Sites
  • Free Spins
  • Free Bet Clubs
  • Bookies
  • Football
    • Premier League
  • Horse Racing
    • Cheltenham Festival
      • Disruptions & Cancellations
      • Old Course v New Course
      • Prestbury Cup
      • Top Trainers
      • Top Jockeys
      • Amateur Races
    • Grand National
      • Picking a Winner
      • Grand National Winners
      • Grand National Fences
      • Disruptions & Cancellations
      • Back to Back Winners
      • How Often Does the Favourite Win?
      • Prize Money
      • Virtual Grand National
      • Grand National Sponsors
      • Reserve Horses
      • How Many Finish
      • How Many Run
      • Grey Horses
      • Popularity
      • Amateur Jockeys
  • Irish Lottery
  • Blog

She Wins: Five Times Women Took on Men in Sport & Won

12 August, 2022

Man and woman shaking hands before playing tennisIn amongst the various sporting highlights of August 2022, it’s unlikely that the qualifying rounds of snooker’s British Open ranked all that high on the ‘must see’ list. But the event captured headlines all around the world when Ng On-yee defeated Ken Doherty 4-3 to book her spot at one of the sport’s biggest tournaments outside of the majors.

Doherty, the former world champion, led the Hong Kong ace 3-2, but Ng showed all her resolve and class to win the final two frames and cement her place in the draw for the British Open, which gets underway in September. The delighted 31-year-old said:

This win is definitely one of the best of my career, against a great player like Ken. I have been practising hard recently with a lot of top players including Marco Fu, and I can see an improvement in my game. I’m very happy to get my first win of the season.

It’s the latest in an increasing number of instances in which women have beaten men in a level-playing field situation in sport, and it’s evident that – when given the opportunity to – the fairer sex can outshine blokes on the big stage. Mind you, this is nothing new, as women have been beating men at their own game for the best part of a century.

Jackie Mitchell (Baseball)

When a list of the best baseball hitters in history is drawn up, the names of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are somewhere near the top. And, so the achievement of Jackie Mitchell in striking out both of those legends in a single game simply cannot be underestimated.

She was just 17 at the time, representing the Minor League’s Chattanooga Lookouts in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees in 1931. While the game was supposed to be fun, Ruth had stoked the fires by claiming that women ‘will never make good’ in baseball because they were ‘too delicate’.

So, Mitchell set to work, and as Ruth swung and missed any notion that this was a fun outing was clearly squashed as he glared at the pitcher and verbally abused the umpire. Three strikes and Babe was out, but he refused to budge from the mound and had to be escorted from the action by his teammates.

Billie Jean King (Tennis)

Billie Jean King & Bobby Riggs
Billie Jean King & Bobby Riggs (Credit: Wikipedia)

While not necessarily a household name these days, Bobby Riggs is a former world number one tennis player who won two US Open titles and Wimbledon back in 1939. He retired in 1962, and eleven years later surfaced to bemoan the quality of women’s tennis – claiming that, despite being 55 years of age, he could beat any female player on the planet.

Riggs was true to his word in May 1973 when he defeated Margaret Court, the most decorated woman in tennis even now, in straight sets, but he would rue the day that he issued the same challenge to Billie Jean King. The match, dubbed the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ had a TV audience of 90 million worldwide and a winner-takes-all prize of $100,000 – which by today’s inflation rate would now be worth a cool $610,000.

King gave her opponent the run-around, and the cocky Riggs – wearing a yellow ‘Sugar Daddy’ jacket – was forced to get serious. Losing, he ripped off the jacket and started playing his best serve-and-volley game, but King was simply too good and won their best-of-five encounter in straight sets.

Jackie Tonawanda (Boxing)

It seems almost barbaric these days that a woman would be allowed to fight a man inside a boxing or wrestling ring. Happily, boxing’s governing bodies have agreed with that stance, and are yet to give a female a professional boxing licence to fight in the men’s ranks.

But in 1975, Jackie Tonawanda – the self-styled ‘female Ali’ – was allowed to participate in the male-dominated All Martial Arts Tournament, and in doing so, became the first woman to box a man and the first woman to fight at Madison Square Garden in the process.

Incredibly, Tonawanda – a heavyweight in the women’s ranks but classified as a lightweight in the men’s – knocked out Larry Rodania in the second round with a clean left hook, and while it’s hard to advocate female vs male fights in combat sports, this was still a momentous moment for women in all-gender sports.

Danica Patrick (Motor Racing)

Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick (Credit: Morrison_2001/ Wikipedia)

As a woman growing up competing in various motor racing disciplines, Danica Patrick had heard all of the ‘women can’t drive’ puns. It must have added fuel to the fire, because by 2008, she was regarded as one of the finest drivers in North American racing.

Her CV includes victory in the male-dominated Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race, and she was also the first female to claim pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series.

To this day, Patrick has the most top-tens for a woman in NASCAR, and has recorded the highest finish by a female in both the Daytona and Indianapolis 500 – becoming one of just 14 drivers of any gender to lead both races.

Rachael Blackmore (Horse Racing)

Given that they are naturally shorter and more lithe, it’s a surprise that it took so long for female jockeys to dominate in horse racing. There was a certain pig-headedness about trainers and owners in days gone by, who handpicked male jockeys to take their rides – perhaps just because that was the way things had always been, as much as any gender bias.

But that all changed courtesy of Rachael Blackmore, who is now arguably the finest jockey in the sport. Her six winners at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival earned her the champion jockey award and her connections thousands in prize money, and a matter of weeks later she became the first woman to win the Grand National.

The Irish rider returned to Cheltenham 12 months later and this time won the Gold Cup, one of the most prestigious races on the National Hunt calendar. Forget gender, Blackmore is the best in the business full stop.

Previous Post: « End of an Era: Is Serena Williams the Greatest Women’s Tennis Player in History?
Next Post: Have Manchester United Ever Been Relegated? »

Primary Sidebar

Blog

Old Trafford Mural
How Being Manchester United Manager Became the Hardest Job in Football
White Cricket Ball Striking Orange Wicket
Twenty20 Vision: Why T20 Cricket Has a Problem with Corruption
Is Saudi Arabia’s Takeover of International Sport Over Already?
Football Match on TV on Pitch
Premier League Games Played Overseas: Why It’s a Case of When, Not If
Wembley Stadium Pre Match
Should the Manager of the England National Football Team Be English?
More Blog Posts | Full Archives

Archives

Betting Sign Up Offers

  • Free Bets
    • Bet £5 Get £20/£30+
    • Bet £10 Get £30/£40+
    • Casino Free Bets
  • Casino Bonuses
  • Free Spins

Loyalty Offers

  • Acca Bonuses
  • Acca Insurance
  • Best Odds Guaranteed
  • Free Bet Clubs
  • Loyalty Points

Major Events

  • Grand National
    • How to Pick the Grand National Winner
    • Grand National Winners
    • Grand National Fences
    • Prize Money
    • Disruptions & Cancellations
    • Back to Back Winners
    • How Often Does the Favourite Win?
    • What Is the Virtual Grand National?
    • Grand National Sponsors
    • Reserve Horses
    • How Many Horses Finish?
    • How Many Horses Run?
    • Most Successful Owners
    • Changes Over Time
    • Female Jockeys
    • Grey Horses in the Grand National
    • Amateur Jockeys
    • Popularity
  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Festival Disruptions & Cancellations
    • Old Course v New Course
    • The Prestbury Cup
    • Top Trainers
    • Top Jockeys
    • Amateur Races
  • Premier League
    • Without the Big Six?
  • Irish Lottery

Related Posts

  • Is Saudi Arabia’s Takeover of International Sport Over Already?
  • How and Why Sporting Dynasties Like Red Bull and Manchester United Crumble
  • Cryotherapy, Telekinesis and Pyramid Water: How to Be an Elite Athlete Well Into Your Thirties
  • Do Play-Offs Prove or Disprove the Theory of Momentum in Sport?
  • Do Female Athletes Get Maternity Pay?
  • Which Sports Has the Most BBC Sports Personality of the Year Winners?
  • Ranking the Unlikeliest Finals in Sporting History
  • Which England Teams Have Won a Major Tournament on Home Soil?
  • Which Sports Stars Have Had to Complete Military Service?
  • What is a Lifetime Sponsorship Deal and Which Sports Stars Have Signed One?

Betting Blog

  • American Football
  • Athletics
  • Betting Industry
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Darts
  • Football
  • General
  • Golf
  • Horse Racing
  • Motor Racing
  • Politics
  • Rugby
  • Snooker
  • Tennis

Please bet responsibly. If you need help to stop gambling visit Gamstop.


Copyright © 2025 Betting-Offers.com | GambleAware.org 18+