- Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka to play ‘battle of the sexes’ match
- Controversial Aussie says he’s feeling nervous about facing the No.1
Nick Kyrgios has revealed he and three-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka are planning to stage a battle of the sexes exhibition match this year – with two major rule changes to make the clash more difficult for him.
Kyrgios, a Wimbledon men’s singles finalist and outspoken commentator, has left fans buzzing about his plans to take on the world No.1 female player.
‘Sabalenka and I are thinking about doing a battle of the sexes later in the year,’ he told Talk Sport.
‘Where the court is going to be slightly smaller [at Sabalenka’s end], for me with one serve…
‘I’m playing on a slightly smaller than the usual tennis court.’
The Australian said the match, inspired by 1973’s infamous ‘battle of the sexes’ tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, will likely take place in Hong Kong later in the year.
‘I’m really nervous about it, to be honest, she’s in her absolute prime right now,’ he said.
Nick Kyrgios (pictured at Wimbledon last week) is set to play a ‘battle of the sexes’ exhibition match against Aryna Sabalenka
The controversial Aussie says he’s feeling nervous about facing world No.1 Sabalenka (pictured at Wimbledon this week)
‘And she’s getting the wooden legs [version] of me – but I’m still feeling confident that I can get her.
‘I think I’ve still got enough variation and talent in the tank to take Sabalenka, but she’s fierce and I’m feeling nerves right now.’
The original ‘battle of the sexes’ match in 1973, was one of biggest media events of its day and King’s impressive victory was widely credited with striking an impressive blow for the women’s liberation movement.
Despite being 55 at the time, retired tennis champ Bobby Riggs was expected to comfortably beat Billie Jean King, then 29 and the world’s No. 2 female player.
Four months earlier, Riggs had easily dispatched with the women’s No. 1 Margaret Court.
Instead, Riggs lost 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to King before a stunned audience of 30,472 fans at the Houston Astrodome.
It’s still the largest crowd in to ever attend a tennis match in the USA and millions more were watching on TV.
The outcome has repeatedly been dogged by claims it was fixed or the result was thrown, something Riggs repeatedly denied until his death in 1995.
Former tennis great Bobby Riggs and the legendary Billie Jean King arm wrestle at a press conference as they promote the original battle of the sexes match
Bobby Riggs was expected to comfortably beat Billie Jean King, then 29 and the world’s No.2 female player – but ended up being outclassed
Kyrgios says he is nervous about facing three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka (pictured)
Sabalenka, 27, is an intense competitor and one of the most expressive players in the game. But Kyrgios says she is very different off the court.
‘When she is on the court she is incredibly intense, she is fierce, she has a big game. She is almost scary,’ he said.
‘But off the court she is gentle. She came on my podcast and I really got to know and connect with her at a human level and she is really funny, she is nice and she was telling me that she wanted to change that perception.
‘People thought she was always like that on court but she’s actually lovely off the court. I have been very lucky to even have a chat with some of these players and she is one of the best players in the world and I’m like why are you listening to the questions I’m giving you!’
