Florida Tennis Coach and Grandson of Legend Bobby Riggs Receives 20-Year Prison Sentence
A Florida tennis coach who is the grandson of tennis legend Bobby Riggs has been sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for sexually abusing two teenage girls he was coaching. Daniel James Riggs, aged thirty-three, received the substantial 240-month sentence after pleading guilty to charges of coercion and enticement of minors to engage in sexual activity.
Disturbing Abuse of Trust and Position
According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Riggs was arrested in December 2024 on serious charges including enticement of a minor and production of child pornography. The federal complaint detailed how Riggs, who worked as a coach for 'Team Riggs' at a Fort Lauderdale tennis center, used his coaching position to victimize two girls between 2021 and late 2024.
The abuse began when Riggs started coaching his first victim in 2020, with inappropriate sexual conversations commencing around October 2021 when the girl was just fifteen years old. Prosecutors revealed that Riggs created multiple anonymous accounts on the social media platform Snapchat, using these accounts to request child sexual abuse materials from the minor.
Systematic Grooming and International Abuse
Riggs reportedly instructed his victim to delete their communications to conceal his identity, demonstrating a calculated approach to his crimes. Beyond the digital exploitation, Riggs was accused of sexually abusing the minor while traveling for tennis tournaments both domestically and internationally. The abuse occurred in multiple locations across the United States, including Florida, and extended to Brazil during international competitions.
Federal officials used subscriber and billing records to connect Riggs to the anonymous social media accounts, leading to the identification of a second victim, a sixteen-year-old girl, through social media records. The systematic nature of the abuse revealed a pattern of predatory behavior that spanned several years.
Family Legacy and Personal Background
Daniel Riggs comes from a prominent tennis family as the grandson of Bobby Riggs, the three-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one who famously competed against Billie Jean King in the historic 'Battle of the Sexes' match. The elder Riggs, who passed away in 1995 at age seventy-seven, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967.
Before his coaching career, Daniel Riggs had demonstrated tennis talent of his own. He won a national team title for Florida in 2009, followed by a high school doubles championship in 2010. His collegiate tennis career included playing for Cornell University's team in 2011 and 2012, followed by competing for Lynn University in Boca Raton during 2014 and 2015.
Official Condemnation and Legal Consequences
United States Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida issued a strong statement regarding the case: 'Children and parents trust coaches with more than athletic instruction. They trust them with safety, guidance, and character. This defendant abused that trust in the most disturbing way imaginable, using his position to groom and sexually exploit the very students he was supposed to mentor.'
Riggs pleaded guilty to two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. He is currently being held at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano, Florida, though his specific federal prison assignment for serving the twenty-year sentence remains undetermined.
Lifetime Registration as Sex Offender
As part of his plea agreement, Riggs will be required to register as a sex offender upon his eventual release from prison. This lifetime registration requirement underscores the severity of his crimes and the ongoing risk assessment by authorities.
The case highlights the critical importance of safeguarding measures in youth sports and the devastating consequences when individuals in positions of trust violate that sacred responsibility. The sentencing sends a clear message about the serious penalties facing those who exploit minors, regardless of their family background or professional standing.
