Nick Kyrgios, Aryna Sabalenka planning historic 'Battle of the Sexes' match

Battle of the sexes is a rare instance when an ATP player takes on a WTA player.

In his latest episode of Wimbledon Unfiltered with Nick Kyrgios, the Australian star opened about his ambitions to feature in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition event later this year. Generally, two players from opposite genders do not contest in singles, with the general mindset being, a male tennis player will easily outdo their female counterpart, due to the physical differences.

However, from the current WTA tour, if there is one player who matches the strength, or possibly is stronger than most from the ATP circuit, it is Aryna Sabalenka. Nick Kyrgios recognises this and fears the Belarusian would crush him on the court. The Australian has made only four appearances on the court this year, and has managed to scalp just a solitary win.

These returns are about as average as a soggy Wimbledon strawberry, but again that’s Kyrgios for you! The man might roast the best players in the world on social media, but when it comes to his own shots… let’s just say they don’t always match the talk.

Speaking on the podcast, he said: “Sabalenka and I are thinking about doing a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ later in the year, where the court is going to be slightly smaller for me, with one serve”.

“We’re thinking about doing it later in the year in Hong Kong,” said the 30-year-old. “I’m really nervous for it to be honest, she’s in her absolute prime right now and she’s getting the wooden legs of me”.

“But I’m still feeling confident that I can get her. The drop shot is my friend, I still think I’ve got enough variation and enough talent in the tank to take Sabalenka, but she’s fierce, and I’m feeling nervous. I think we’re both up for doing it, we’re very close, and I’m excited for it.”

The WTA World No. 1 is yet to publicly comment on this, but if these two do face off on court, it promises to be a fiery showdown. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen such a spectacle, as “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition matches have occurred multiple times before — most famously in 1992, when Jimmy Connors took on Martina Navratilova in an iconic clash that captivated the world.

Also Read: Nick Kyrgios predicts winner of Wimbledon 2025

Connors was allowed one serve per point, while Navratilova could hit into half of the doubles alleys. In a tense affair, Navratilova made 36 unforced errors as Connors won in straight sets 7-5, 6-2. In July 2021, Polish number ones Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek played a single tiebreak game during the opening ceremony of the WTA Poland Open in Gdynia. Iga won it 7–4.

The most recent such battle took place in December 2023, after Donna Vekić and Marta Kostyuk withdrew, ATP No. 1145 Yanis Ghazouani Durand stepped in to face 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in a French exhibition final. Durand won in straight sets, but Andreeva was still awarded the winner’s trophy.

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