14
When A Woman Played An ATP Tournament In 1975
6 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
It’s rarely talked about but a woman once dared to be great in the ATP by playing an official ATP tournament in Fairfield, CT in February 1975.
As a talented, junior Abigail Maynard had local connections and was given a wildcard to compete against the men at the ATP Fairfield $30,000 indoor tournament at Sugar Hollow Racquet Club. Her first round draw was Ion Tiriac of Romania.
Unfortunately for Maynard she was overwhelmed by the occasion and was not able to give Tiriac any kind of trouble and lost by double bagel 06 06.
The match was contested without any special privileges or provisions for Maynard such as one serve or half of an alley. The match was played on equal terms on a fast indoor carpet.
A witness account: “Abbie didn’t see under which law she wouldn’t be allowed to participate in a men’s tennis tournament. The promoter, Bill Riordan, a cunning coach/manager for Jimmy Connors, cleverly came up with a nice way to make a “Top Event” and thus registered her… And we were all wondering: But who is she going to be allowed to play in the first round?! We couldn’t have done worse… Tiriac! The badly bitten bear, the ogre, the vampire of the Carpathians, ready to eat “everything raw”, a nice young girl.”
“She insisted on playing vs the boys and fu**** around and found out. Tiriac was a top 50 singles player world rank . Real rules no handicaps or 55 year old Bobby Riggs hustling in fixed matches.”
Tiriac won one more round vs Fassbender of Germany before losing in the QF to Peter Fleming in three sets.
Maynard hoped to break down a barrier for women to be allowed to play any kind of tournament, including men’s, however her pioneering motivation did not materialize. She did not compete in any WTA tournaments after her ATP experience.
Tiriac vs Maynard happened two years after the famous King vs Riggs Battle Of Sexes in Houston Astrodome.
No tags
Cory · July 14, 2026 at 6:10 pm
Wow! Never knew this! Do you think a top women’s player (say top 10) could compete with a top 250 mens? I am just wondering where, objectively, you would estimate that a top 10 women’s player would size up.
Scoop Malinowski · July 14, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Cory, my friend Sander Groen, a former ATP player did the math and figured Serena when she was no. 1 might be able to compete with ATP 700 and lower maybe. But you never know, numbers crunching can be inaccurate. No no Wta top ten could compete with any top 500. I think Agassi now would manhandle Sabalenka.
Sam · July 16, 2026 at 2:04 am
Frankly, I don’t really understand why a woman would want to do this. 🤔
figured Serena when [he] was no. 1 might be able to compete with ATP 700 and lower maybe.
What that shows is that if you want to pull off a massive fraud on the women’s tour by impersonating a female player, you don’t need to have a superstar male player on your hands. You just need one good enough, and obviously Serena and Venus were both “good enough.” 😼
Since Richard Williams’s diabolical plan was so successful, I wonder if it will ever be repeated by some other mad tennis scientist in the future?
Scoop Malinowski · July 16, 2026 at 9:08 am
Sam, look up Mananchaya Sawangkaew, an obvious make pretending to be female. Saw Man in Newport, shorts, collared shirt NO BRA. One former ATP official was there and cracked that Man’s women’s doubles match was “mixed doubles.”
Sam · August 1, 2026 at 5:07 am
Just from photos of the player’s face, yes, Sawangkaew does look like a man. But remember, Scoop, Richard Williams had an 80-page plan to get Venus and Serena to the top. So, just hook Sawangkaew up with Williams, and then the magic will begin! 🪄
Pretty ironic that the first three letters of this player’s name are “MAN.” 😆
One former ATP official was there and cracked that Man’s women’s doubles match was “mixed doubles.”
Hope he didn’t say that publicly, or else Mauresmo will slap him with a $100K fine! 👀
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2026 at 8:09 am
Sam they have to put it right in our faces, hide it in plain sight. Not only looks but dresses like ATP player, man socks, shorts and shirt and no bra.