Kyrgios Beats Sabalenka in Dubai Showdown

by Reuters 30-12-2025 | 10:06 AM

(Reuters) - Nick Kyrgios beat Aryna Sabalenka 6‑3 6‑3 on Sunday in a "Battle of the Sexes" exhibition match billed as a modern take on Billie Jean King's famous win over Bobby Riggs over 50 years ago, but one that ignited controversy over its relevance and meaning.

The clash between four-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka and former world number 13 Kyrgios was billed as entertainment but critics warned that it risked reducing women's tennis to a sideshow and trivialising its progress toward equality.

The match that gave the event its name was the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" when women's tennis pioneer King beat 55-year-old former Grand Slam winner Riggs, who had said that the standard of women's tennis could never match that of the men's game.

King told the BBC that although this year's clash carried the same tagline, it lacked the stakes of her showdown with Riggs, a contest she described as a fight for social change in a vastly different cultural era.

Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at Dubai's Coca-Cola Arena, Kyrgios negotiated the slightly smaller "equaliser" court on women's world number one Sabalenka's side to secure victory after an entertaining contest played under modified rules.

With a one-serve-per-point rule in effect, both players faltered on their deliveries in crucial moments before Kyrgios broke for a 4-3 lead and went on to take the opening set.

The maverick Australian was drenched in sweat and appeared out of breath in the second set after going 1-3 down, while his opponent danced to the music during a strategic timeout, but he persevered to make it 3-3 after Sabalenka sent a shot long.

Unlike Riggs, who had long retired from the men's tour when he took on fellow American King, Kyrgios is an active player on the ATP Tour even though his recent seasons have been blighted by a succession of wrist and knee injuries.

The former Wimbledon runner-up, a major draw on and off the court with his natural talent and charisma, managed only five professional singles matches in 2025.