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The #1 ranked women’s tennis player in the world, Aryna Sabalenka, is set to face off against Nick Kyrgios in a ‘Battle of the Sexes‘ exhibition match. This unique match will take place in Dubai next month but Aryna Sabalenka has already seized an edge by winning the war of words leading up to it.
There is precedent for ‘Battle of the Sexes’ matches in tennis. A 29-year-old Billie Jean King faced 55-year-old Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in a televised match back in 1973.
In 1998, Venus and Serena Williams proclaimed they could beat any men’s tennis player ranked outside of the top 200. In stepped Karsten Braasch who was ranked 203rd at the time. He beat Serena 6-1 and Venus 6-2 and was once described by a journalist as “a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager.”
Battle of the Sexes 2025: Aryna Sabalenka vs Nick Kyrgios
Aryna Sabalenka is currently the #1 ranked women’s tennis player in the world. Sabalenka has 21 WTA singles titles, 2 Australian Opens, and she has won back-to-back U.S. Opens.
On the other side of the net will be Nick Kyrgios. The Australian tennis star was once ranked 13th in the world and has over $12.8 million in career earnings along with 7 singles titles. He made the 2022 Wimbledon Finals but has since plummeted in the rankings to 652nd worldwide.
Known of on-court antics and drama, Nick Kyrgios is said to be a different human off the court. Hugh van Cuylenburg of the Resilience Project once said “everyone who has ever met him say he’s a sensational person who cares deeply about other people. He doesn’t seek recognition or publicity for the good things he does.”
Sabalenka Winning The War Of Words
After the 2025 Battle of the Sexes was announced with the match set to take place in Dubai on December 28th, Sabalenka twisted the knife.
Sabalenka told The National News “I just want to play my best tennis and put him in a very uncomfortable situation, because for him it’s lose-lose, you know? If you win against the girl, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, congrats, well done.’”
She went on to say “if you lose against the girl, then it’s, you know, ‘Come on, Nick!’ And for me, it’s win-win. If I win, that’s like, OK, we have something to talk about. And if I lose, I mean, I just hope that I’m not going to lose 6-0. And if I lose, that it’s a tight battle, and I just want to force him to go crazy on court.”
@frontofficesports Aryna Sabalenka will play Nick Kyrgios in a modern-day “Battle of the Sexes” 🎾 #greenscreen #arynasabalenka #nickkyrgios #tennis #tennistiktok
In her words, it’s a win-win for herself and a lose-lose situation for Nick Kyrgios.
I’d argue there’s more nuance to this Battle of the Sexes. Nobody in women’s tennis wants to see the #1 ranked player lose to the 652nd ranked ATP player in the world who is almost certainly a LOT better than that ranking suggests. It won’t be a good look for the sport if she loses, and it’ll be real bad if she gets smoked.
Either way, with this match set to take place in Dubai ahead of NYE both athletes are sure to be getting PAID for this Battle of the Sexes exhibition.