Speaking to the media at the United Cup in Australia, Iga Swiatek addressed the recent exhibition match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios, saying that such contests do not particularly interest her and emphasizing that women’s tennis does not need to be measured or compared against the men’s game.
The recent Sabalenka vs. Kyrgios exhibition in Dubai, dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes,” faced criticism for potentially undermining women’s tennis. Sabalenka lost in straight sets 6-3 6-3, and many observers felt the spectacle added little to the sport while potentially diminishing the WTA’s profile.
Commenting on the match, Swiatek admitted she hadn’t watched it, explaining, “No, I haven’t watched, because I don’t watch stuff like that. I think for sure it attracted, like, a lot of attention. It was entertainment, but I wouldn’t say that it had anything to do with social change or any important topics.”
She also noted that the event bore little resemblance to the iconic Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs match from 1973. “I think the name was just the same as the one from the Billie Jean King match in ’73. That’s it. There were no more similarities because I feel like 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 totally different story.”
Swiatek emphasized that tennis thrives when it celebrates both the WTA and ATP without forcing comparisons. “I think, honestly, yeah, there doesn’t need to be any competition. I think actually events like this one, United Cup, bring tennis all together, and WTA fans and ATP fans can watch this event with so much excitement. Seeing also singles players that usually don’t have space to play mixed doubles together, playing these kinds of matches, I think this is actually what makes our sport much more interesting and better.”
Concluding her thoughts, Swiatek reiterated that while she hadn’t seen the Dubai match, she recognized it as light-hearted entertainment. “So yeah, I haven’t watched the match. I only know about how it looked like. But I think, yeah, it was for sure nice entertainment and an exho match between these two.”
