A new televised tennis exhibition match titled a ‘battle of the sexes’ left fans confused following its conclusion in Dubai on December 29.
Back in 1973, Billie Jean King famously faced Bobby Riggs before an audience of roughly 90 million, emerging victorious in the best-of-five match held at the Houston Astrodome.
Over 50 years later, the BBC revived this concept with women’s top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka competing against Nick Kyrgios, who is ranked 671st, labeling it as ‘a new tennis battle of the sexes.’
The game featured modified rules, limiting each player to just one serve instead of two. Additionally, Sabalenka’s side of the court was reduced by nine percent to compensate for the speed differences in men’s and women’s games.
Once Kyrgios claimed victory in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, viewers questioned the purpose of the entire event.
Many people took to X to express their opinions, with several suggesting that the match may have negatively impacted the discourse around men and women competing together.
“The Kyrgios-Sabalenka farce was tasteless & pointless,” one user commented on X. “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.”
Another echoed: “Couldn’t agree more.. utterly pointless.”
A third user remarked: “It’s genuinely dispiriting that our national broadcaster, the BBC, is showing Battle of the Sexes tennis match (Sabalenka vs Kyrgios). An event which cheapens the sport and fundamentally betrays the legacy of Billie Jean King.”
In response to the criticism, Sabalenka stated: “I feel like we just brought more attention to our sport and I don’t see how it can be bad.”
Billie Jean King also shared her thoughts with BBC Sport, noting few similarities between her match and the new event.
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,” King explained. “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.”
After the match, Kyrgios praised Sabalenka as a ‘hell of a player and such a great champion.’
According to Sky News, he added: “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.”
Sabalenka expressed satisfaction with her performance, saying she ‘put up a great fight.’
“I really enjoyed the show and I feel like next time – when I play him – I already know the tactics. I know his strengths, his weaknesses and it’s going to be a better match for sure,” she commented.