Battle of the Sexes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Nick Kyrgios won the latest version of the “Battle of the Sexes” in tennis, beating top-ranked 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.
There was laughing and joking between the players, some under-arm serves, over-the-top grunting on shots, and even some dancing from Sabalenka during a timeout to entertain the crowd at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai — where the most expensive tickets sold for approaching $800.
Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who has played only six tour-level matches in the last three years because of wrist and knee injuries, appeared to play within himself at times and faced the disadvantage of Sabalenka’s side of the court being nearly 10 per cent smaller in an attempt to level the playing field. The players were only given one serve per point, rather than two.
Kyrgios was drenched in sweat by the time he clinched victory off his third match point and the pair were all smiles when they embraced at the net.
Kyrgios acknowledged feeling nervous and having to “strap in.”
“I think this is a great stepping stone for the sport of tennis,” the Australian said.
The so-called “Battle of the Sexes” was a name borrowed from the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which King won in straight sets in the Houston Astrodome and took place amid King’s efforts to start a female tour and get equal pay in tennis.
Fifty-two years on and the latest iteration had no wider cultural significance. Instead, Sabalenka and Kyrgios — members of the same agency, Evolve, that has arranged the exhibition — just wanted to put on a show, engage a younger audience and make some money.
Kyrgios might be regarded as a controversial choice to play in such a match, given he pleaded guilty to shoving a former girlfriend to the ground during an argument in 2021 — he escaped conviction on a charge of common assault — and has previously expressed his opposition to equal pay in tennis.