Former tennis star Jimmy Connors was one of the best tennis players in America. The 69-year-old has won eight Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career. Later, after he retired from professional tennis, he took up the job of a coach and worked with some of the great tennis players like Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova.

He has also worked with young Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard. However, there was a phase in his life that the 69-year-old would like to forget.

Jimmy Connors admits to having a gambling problem once

Back in 2013, Connors revealed in his new book that he was going through a serious gambling problem. Recalling his battle of champions match against Martina Navratilova, the 69-year-old said that he had bet $1 million on his victory.

“Betting on myself was the ultimate gambler’s high. I was out of control and I didn’t realize it, though that bet should have been a big-assed hint,” he said.

Further, he also mentioned that Bobby Riggs had also bet on his victory. When Navratilova took the early lead in the match, Riggs looked like having a heart attack.

However, Connors came back in the match and defeated Navratilova, hence winning the bet. Notably, this was the last time that such a match was held.

Read more: “Don’t F*** Up”: Jimmy Connors Urges Australian Open to Let Novak Djokovic Defend His Title

It’s shocking to see such astounding claims from a legend.

How did Navratilova feel about the match?

Unlike the earlier editions of the battle of Sexes matches, the battle of champions did not have any social backing. While those matches were a symbol of women’s pride, this was a match merely for entertainment purposes. Both Navratilova and Connors were former world number 1 and had a good fan following. Even though the rules of the match gave advantage to Navratilova, she sooner started to struggle against Connors. Later, she admitted that she was happy when the match finally finished.

“I’m glad it’s over. I was more nervous than for any match I’ve ever played. 14,000 people and a pay-per-view audience,” she said.

Watch this story: ‘Seems to Get Injured a Lot’ – Martina Navratilova Once Used Serena Williams’ Example to Talk About the ‘Fragmented’ Nature of Women’s Tennis. 

Back in those times, these matches were pretty popular. The organizers used it as a tool to promote the participation of women and boost equality in sports.