World number one Aryna Sabalenka will play Australian Nick Kyrgios in a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match next month.
The exhibition match will be held in Dubai, and has been arranged by both players’ talent agency.
Kyrgios is currently ranked 652nd in the world.
Battle of the Sexes
The exhibition match comes 52 years after the original ‘Battle of the Sexes’, both involving 55-year-old Bobby Riggs.
A retired player at the time, Riggs had said he believed he could beat the top women’s players, saying: “You can see some pretty legs but it’s night and day compared to the men’s game.”
Riggs beat Australian Margaret Court in May 1973, but was beaten by Billie Jean King in straight sets (6-4, 6-3, 6-3) that September. An estimated audience of 90 million worldwide tuned in to watch the King-Riggs match.
Kyrgios v Sabalenka
Kyrgios has only played six tour-level matches since 2022, the year he reached the Wimbledon final.
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Meanwhile, Sabalenka won her fourth Grand Slam title in September at the U.S. Open and is at the top of her game.
The court and rules are set to be adjusted for the match.
According to The Athletic, Sabalenka’s side of the court will be 9% smaller in length and width, and both players will only be given one serve for each point to limit the impact of Kyrgios’ serve.
What they said
Both players confirmed the clash on social media.
It follows months of speculation about the possibility of the match, and commentary from both players.
On fellow player Alexander Bublik’s podcast in September, Kyrgios said: “Our serves, women can’t return… I’m gonna try. I don’t want her to win.”
At the U.S. Open that month, Sabalenka told reporters: “I genuinely think that I'm going to win and I'll definitely go out there and I'll try my best to kick his ass.”
