Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios will face each other on Sunday, December 28, at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena in a highly anticipated exhibition match billed as a modern-day repeat of the iconic Battle of the Sexes. The original encounter, played in 1973, saw Billie Jean King defeat Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in a match that became a landmark moment in tennis history.
Both players will enter the Dubai showdown convinced of victory.
Sabalenka has made it clear that she wants to demonstrate the physical strength and mental toughness of elite women’s tennis by competing against a male opponent. Kyrgios, on the other hand, believes his trademark unpredictability will be the decisive factor.
The exhibition will be played as a best-of-three-sets contest, with a 10-point tiebreak deciding the match if it goes to a third set. To level the playing field, each player will receive only one serve per point, while Sabalenka’s side of the court will be reduced by nine percent. Tournament organisers said the adjustment was based on data indicating that female players, on average, move about nine percent slower than their male counterparts.
“This event is really unpredictable,” Sabalenka said when asked about her expectations, after confidently naming herself as the likely winner. “I don’t know what to expect and that’s what I love because this is the feeling that you chase when you play sport.”
The WTA world No. 1 acknowledged that Kyrgios presents a unique challenge, describing him as “unpredictable and crazy,” but added that she hopes to show the world “how strong and tough” she can be when competing against a man.
Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist and currently ranked No. 673, insists he is not taking the matchup lightly. Fully aware that Sabalenka is among the most powerful players in the women’s game, the Australian plans to lean into the element of surprise that has long defined his career.
“My strength has always been my unpredictability, even on the men’s tour,” Kyrgios said. Against Sabalenka, he believes he can bring a style and set of patterns she has not encountered before.
Despite the promotional framing, the upcoming clash carries none of the political or cultural weight of the original Battle of the Sexes. King’s victory over Riggs was watched by an estimated 90 million people worldwide and became a defining moment in the fight for gender equality in sport, laying the groundwork for WTA players to become the highest-paid female athletes in the world. At 29, King defeated the 55-year-old former Wimbledon and US Open champion in a best-of-five-sets match, on an unmodified court.
Asked whether she sees any parallels between the two matches, King dismissed the comparison in comments to BBC Sport.
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,” she said, adding that she obviously wants Sabalenka to win.
