EMMA STONE IS set to play tennis icon Billie Jean King in a new film about the legendary Battle of the Sexes tennis match.
Stone will star opposite Steve Carell who has been cast as Bobby Riggs in the biopic which will be produced by Danny Boyle’s Decibel Films.
Filming on ‘Battle of the Sexes’ is due to begin in autumn 2015.
The film will tell the story of the historic 1973 match between Riggs and King that gripped the sporting world and proved to be a massive TV success.
King, 29, beat 55-year-old Riggs in straight sets in the challenge match which was worth $100,000 to the winner.
An ESPN report in 2013 publicised allegations that Riggs, who died in 1995, bet against himself and deliberately lost the match in order to clear gambling debts. The claims were dismissed by King.
-Originally published 12.20
