Nick Kyrgios wins the battle of the sexes in Dubai against Aryna Sabalenka in two sets.
Tennis eccentric Nick Kyrgios clearly won an exhibition match against Aryna Sabalenka with the historically charged title “Battle of the Sexes.” The former Wimbledon finalist, who has recently been more of an influencer than a tennis pro due to health setbacks, defeated the number one women’s tennis player in Dubai 6-3, 6-3.
Belarusian Sabalenka (27), one of the most powerful players in the world, had no real chance against the world number 671 in just over an hour. Kyrgios played the balls rather loosely into his opponent’s nine percent smaller court at times, occasionally fooling around or praising Sabalenka for her strong serves.
The second serve was prohibited in this gender comparison, as this adjustment was also intended to give the anatomically disadvantaged woman a better chance. Ultimately, Sabalenka managed a few good winning shots and breaks, but she never came close to victory.
Sabalenka: “I gave him a tough fight.”
“I gave him a tough fight. You could see that he was getting tired. Next time, I’ll know his tactics, strengths, and weaknesses,” explained four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka after the match. Kyrgios, once ranked 13th in the world, spoke of a “really tough match. I’m not surprised. She broke my serve several times. I’d like to play her again. It was a spectacle, a big step forward for tennis.”
The matchup was not least due to the fact that the two opponents are represented by the same management agency – which is another reason why the serious background of the first editions was missing. “It’s not the same,” the great Billie Jean King, now 82, recently told the BBC: “For us, it was about social change, culturally speaking, where we stood in 1973. Not so with this match.”
She knew at the time that she “had to beat” the then 55-year-old chauvinist Riggs – after he had demolished her great rival Margaret Court in the first “Battle of the Sexes” months earlier and mocked women’s tennis.
On Sunday, the show took center stage. The protagonists entered the 17,000-capacity arena in Dubai like boxers to loud music, with Sabalenka wearing a glittering silver coat to the sounds of “Eye of the Tiger.” Internet personalities and soccer legends such as Ronaldo and Kaka sat in the front row. During a timeout, Sabalenka danced the Macarena.
