Aryna Sabalenka has shrugged off any criticism about her upcoming exhibition clash with Nick Kyrgios by arguing it will have no negative impact on her or women’s tennis.
The Battle of the Sexes match is scheduled to take place at the Coca-Cola Arena in the United Arab Emirates. It is not the first time members of the opposite sex have faced off against each other.
The most well-known was the match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973. Riggs, who boasted at the time he could beat any female player at the age of 55, was defeated by King in a live televised match. During the same year, the first such match was between Riggs and Margaret Court. Then, in 1992, Jimmy Connors faced Martina Navratilova in a clash played under hybrid rules.
However, Sabalenka is facing questions about the need for such an exhibition to be played in 2025 against Kyrgios, who hasn’t played a Tour-level match since March due to injury and is currently ranked outside the top 600. Should she lose, some are questioning the potential backlash it could have on women’s tennis. A view that the world No.1 doesn’t agree with.
“I don’t agree. I am not putting myself at any risk. We’re there to have fun and bring great tennis. Whoever wins, wins.” Sabalenka told the BBC, which will broadcast the match live.
“It’s so obvious that the man is biologically stronger than the woman, but it’s not about that,” she added.
There will be adjustments made to the match, with Sabalenka’s side of the court being nine per cent smaller to “reflect average movement-speed differences between men and women.” Players will also be limited to one serve each. The match will be best-of-three sets with a 10-point deciding tiebreaker if needed.
“This event is only going to help bring women’s tennis to a higher level,” Sabalenka claims.
Meanwhile, former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios has dismissed suggestions that the event is misogynistic while speaking on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel.
“I think it shows unity. It really does show unity. I think people don’t know that me and Aryna get along extremely well,” he argued.
“We are having fun in doing this together. This is something that not many tennis players have ever experienced.”
Kyrgios was then asked by Morgan about the possibility of achieving a one-sided 6-0, 6-0 win over Sabalenka.
“Well, what if? That’s sport. We don’t know what to expect. I am going to feel extremely nervous, I am carrying a lot of weight as well. Aryna has won Grand Slams but she has never gone into this kind of scenario,” he replied.
There are no public details about how much money Sabalenka and Kyrgios will earn from this event, which will take place on December 28th at 15:45 GMT.
