During the Dubai exhibition match between the world’s top-ranked women’s tennis player, Aryna Sabalenka, and the 671st-ranked male player, Nick Kyrgios, viewers noticed an unusual alteration to the court for this ‘Battle of the Sexes’.
The event aimed to rekindle the spirit of Billie Jean King’s historic win in 1973, where she triumphed over male pro Bobby Riggs, a match that was watched by 90 million people globally.
However, the exhibition on Sunday introduced some rule modifications to level the playing field for Sabalenka, acknowledging that serves in men’s tennis are generally up to 25mph faster.
Among the changes, one notable adjustment had viewers questioning their eyes, as the court’s lines were made nine percent smaller on one side.
Despite these efforts, the match proved to be one-sided, with Kyrgios, who has fallen from a career high of 13th in 2016 to 671st, maintaining control and securing a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the 27-year-old women’s number one.
This outcome was contrary to the desires of the event’s organizers, who reduced Sabalenka’s court size by nine percent to give Kyrgios a smaller area to target with his powerful serves, ensuring that the women’s number one would not need to cover as much ground.
Additionally, both players were limited to a single serve, hoping Kyrgios would temper his shots.
The inability to adequately balance the players’ strengths led some tennis enthusiasts to express on X that the match was ‘utterly pointless’.
As some anonymous online trolls interpreted the result as supporting male superiority, one user remarked: “It achieved little other than further polarization, and the amplification of crude, uninformed views of many people who don’t understand how physiology affects sport, and who want to discriminate against women’s sport.”
Tennis icon Billie Jean King also criticized the competition. “The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,” King commented.
King elaborated: “Everything else, no. Ours was about social change; culturally, where we were in 1973. Mine was really political.
“I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win.”
Following his victory, the 30-year-old Australian told Sky that Sabalenka was a ‘hell of a player’ despite his dominant performance. He stated: “I didn’t really know what to expect. She broke my serve numerous times. Honestly, I had to strap in because she was putting the pressure on. She was hitting some amazing shots.
“I would love to play her again and showcase her talent and what I have left in the tank. Ultimately, it was a really hard-fought battle. There were breaks back and forth.”
For those interested in a rematch of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’, both players expressed interest in facing each other on the court again.
Kyrgios mentioned he was eager for another match, as it had captivated global attention for months. Meanwhile, a determined Sabalenka felt confident about a rematch after delivering a ‘great fight’.
She added: “He was struggling, he was getting really tired. I feel like next time I play him, I know the tactics, and his strengths and weaknesses.”