THE ‘Battle of the sexes‘ tennis exhibition between women n°1 Aryna Sabalenka And Nick Kyrgios will take place on modified terrain and with a single service limit.
Event organizers, the Evolve agency which represents both players, have confirmed that the side of the court Sabalenka will defend will be 9 percent smaller than standard.
Advertisement
Additionally, Sabalenka and Kyrgios will be limited to one serve each initially, which will force both players to prioritize precision over speed and was introduced to neutralize Kyrgios’ natural advantage in power.
In the press release announcing the match, Evolve said the 9 percent reduction on Sabalenka’s side of the court was made to “reflect the average differences in movement speed between men and women.”
Sabalenka and Kyrgios will play a best-of-three set, with a tiebreak, ten-point match deciding the winner if necessary. Kyrgios has only played five official matches in 2025 due to injury but aims for a return in 2026 and plans to compete in the Australian Open.
Kyrgios and Sabalenka will each have a serve and the women’s number 1 will defend a smaller side of the court (Getty Images)
Kyrgios, who is ranked 671st in the world due to his injury, argued for the limit of one serve for both players when Sabalenka was initially supposed to have two.
Advertisement
“Initially I had two serves, but then he was so stressed that he took away a serve,” Sabalenka said. Piers Morgan uncensored in a joint interview with Kyrgios.
“I feel like if she had two serves and I only had one, I would be the underdog, I’m not even kidding,” Kyrgios said. “It would be difficult there.”
Sabalenka said it would be “really difficult” to compete with a male player on a full court and standard rules.
“I mean, physically they are a lot stronger, the speed, the power of the balls, everything is a lot stronger,” the world number 1 said on Piers Morgan uncensored.
Kyrgios reached a maximum serve speed of 218 km/h during a match in Indian Wells earlier this season (Getty Images)
“So it’s difficult to compete, but in these conditions, like we have now with a nine percent smaller field, I’m like, OK, maybe at least I have a better chance to compete and see if I can win. And if I can, then maybe I’ll go for a regular match.”
Advertisement
The exhibition match, which will take place in Dubai and be broadcast live on the BBC, is an attempted modern reworking of the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes”, where women’s number one Billie Jean King beat 55-year-old former men’s number one Bobby Riggs, a self-proclaimed “macho man”.
King, who beat Riggs in straight sets in front of 30,000 people at the Houston Astrodome, rejected any comparisons between his victory over Riggs and the contest between Sabalenka and Kyrgios, telling the BBC that his victory was about “societal change.”
Sabalenka won her fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open (Getty Images)
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and the other is a girl. That’s it,” said King, now 82. “Everything else, no. Ours was about social, cultural change, like we were in 1973. This one isn’t. I hope it’s a great match. I obviously want Sabalenka to win. But it’s just not the same.”
