Battle of the Sexes: An exhibition that helped tennis none, hurt women's sport more

NEW DELHI: When Billie Jean King played - and beat - Bobby Riggs in the iconic Battle of the Sexes in 1973, women's tennis was struggling for relevance. The complexion of the sport is much different now. There is equal pay at all four majors. But back then it was different, with that win for Billie Jean King playing a crucial role in the formation of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the governing body for women's tennis. Unfortunately, the modern rendition of the Battle of the Sexes, between women's World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and men's World No. 671 Nick Kyrgios, was an own goal that hurt women's tennis and veered towards a circus act.

Kyrgios, who has won just one competitive match since the end of 2022, triumphed 6-3, 6-3 against four-time grand slams winner Sabalenka with the likes of Ronaldo, Kaka, Peter Crouch and more celebrities watching on. Without getting into the men vs women biological debate, Kyrgios -- despite looking absolutely exhausted from the middle of the first set onward -- cantered to victory on the back of some nifty kick serves, lots of spin and more consistent groundstrokes.




“It was a really tough match,” Kyrgios said in the on-court interview after. “She is a hell of a competitor. It could have gone either way.”

From the very onset, the rules for the contest in Dubai were comical. In an attempt to level the playing field between Kyrgios, a former Wimbledon finalist, and Sabalenka, the Belarusian's side of the court was 9% smaller, and both players were limited to one serve per point.

In practice, these rules looked bizarre. Sabalenka's shortened court, by 3.5 feet, meant she was standing well behind the baseline while serving, to make it resemble a regular court. Additionally, the court's proportions would have been challenging even for professional athletes, as was clear by Sabalenka's rising unforced error count.

Sabalenka walked onto the court between the fans, with "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background, wearing a silver sparkly jacket as if a WWE superstar entering the ring. Throughout the exhibition, she did entertain as one would expect of a WWE wrestler. She smiled, she laughed, and she did the Macarena during a time-out in the second set. On the tennis front, she looked uncomfortable against Kyrgios' choppy forehands, unconventional shotmaking and failed to capitalise on any momentum.



This was suitable for those who have a passing interest in tennis and a couple of hours to waste. It won't be the 'Drive to Survive' moment for tennis. Even for an exhibition, this was a laughably poor idea from the beginning. Any attempts at converting the naysayers failed, despite what Kyrgios, Sabalenka and their management agency (both represented by Evolve) would like the rest of the world to believe.

“This is a great stepping stone for the sport of tennis. Of course I was nervous. This was all the world was talking about for six months. Aryna was up for the challenge. I was under the pump there.”

Sabalenka, despite the criticism that has come her way for weeks, insisted that she would like a rematch. “I felt great,” she said. “I feel I put on a great fight. He was struggling, he was getting really tired. I hit a lot of great shots. I really enjoyed the show. I feel like next time I play him, I know the tactics and his strengths and weaknesses.”

Billie Jean King's high-stakes win against Riggs did more to help tennis than a regular match would have. It brought about equality, fairness and social justice for women's tennis. Fifty-two years later, Sabalenka's agreement to play this charade did more damage than good.

"I was intrigued to see the battle of the sexes. It is a just an exhibition and pointless. Not sure this helps tennis. Kyrgios underarm serve, drop shot ,etc," posted former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski.

Either way this contest went, it was destined to be a bad look for women's tennis. By manner of design, Sabalenka, and women's tennis by extension, were bound to be attacked by sexists and misogynists.

"Women's tennis got EXPOSED in Dubai. Kyrgios (not even top 500 men) straight-sets Sabalenka 6-3 6-3, toyed with the "World No.1" like a child. Court rigged: his side smaller, one serve only, still demolished her.

"Battle of the Sexes? More like a massacre. Reality doesn't lie," wrote one user on X.

Another opined: "What a crock. Kyrgios toying with Sabalenka on a heavily disadvantaged court to hit into, whilst he feeds her half-speed shots was an embarassment [sic]. What a horrible watch that was."

2025 was a stellar year for women's tennis. Sabalenka reached three of four major finals, winning one. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys all had great career arcs and women's tennis had many fascinating stories to tell. This attention-seeking, money-grabbing act shouldn't take away the sheen from that.