Iga Swiatek has described the ‘battle of the sexes’ match as unnecessary and has praised the impact that the United Cup has had on tennis.
The ‘battle of the sexes’ contest involved Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios in a bid to recapture the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
The match took place in Dubai and was expected to bring new eyes to the sport and do the modern game proud.
However, the event didn’t have the desired effect even if it did capture the attention of the tennis and sporting world.
Commenting on the clash Iga Swiatek has said that the match was unnecessary and has criticised the move as the women’s game can stand on its own feet, “It attracted a lot of attention. It was entertainment, but I wouldn’t say that had anything to do with social change or any important topics,” Swiatek was quoted by The Straits Times as saying,
“The name was just the same … that’s it. There were no similarities because women’s tennis stands on its own right now. We have so many great athletes and great stories to present, we don’t necessarily need to compare to men’s tennis.”
It’s a view that is taken up by quite a few people in the tennis world as women’s tennis has evolved in a spectacular way since 1973.
Now, Swiatek’s attention turns to on-court matters as she begins her 2026 season at the United Cup.
Swiatek will represent Poland in the United Cup along with Hubert Hurkacz as they aim to win the title for the first time after losing in the final for two consecutive years.
The six-time Grand Slam champions says that the United Cup adds a lot of value for tennis, “It’s a totally different story. There doesn’t need to be any competition. Events like this one, the United Cup, brings tennis all together, and WTA fans and ATP fans can watch this event with so much excitement,” Swiatek said.
“Seeing singles players that usually don’t have space to play mixed doubles together, playing these kind of matches, I think this is actually what makes our sport much more interesting and better.”
Poland will take on Germany on Monday in their first match of the week in a repeat of the final two years ago which Germany won.
