DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Nick Kyrgios won the latest version of tennis’s “battle of the sexes” by defeating top women’s player Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match that represented light entertainment rather than another landmark moment for gender equality.
Players chatted and laughed, some served, some exaggeratedly grunted during shots, and even Sabalenka danced during timeouts to entertain the 17,000-seat crowd at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena, where the most expensive tickets cost nearly $800.
Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who has played just six tour-level matches in the past three years due to wrist and knee injuries, appeared to be working within himself at times and faced the disadvantage of a court that was nearly 10% smaller on Sabalenka’s side in an attempt to level the playing field. Players only receive one serve per point, instead of two.
Kyrgios was dripping with sweat when he won his third match point, and the pair were all smiles as they embraced at the net.
Kyrgios admitted to feeling nervous and having to “buckle up.”
“I think it’s a great stepping stone in tennis,” the Australian said.
The so-called “Battle of the Sexes” was borrowed from the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which King won in straight sets at the Houston Planetarium, and took place against the backdrop of King’s efforts to launch a women’s tennis tour and gain equal pay.
Fifty-two years later, the latest iteration no longer has wider cultural significance. Instead, Sabalenka and Kyrgios – members of Evolve, the same agency that organized the exhibition – just wanted to put on an exhibition, attract a younger audience and make some money.
Kyrgios’ participation in such a tournament may be considered a controversial choice because he admitted pushing his ex-girlfriend to the ground during an argument in 2021 – he escaped conviction on a common assault charge – and has previously expressed his opposition to equal pay in tennis.
