{"id":337325,"date":"2025-12-09T14:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T14:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/337325\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T14:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T14:30:07","slug":"worrying-signs-for-nick-kyrgios-ahead-of-battle-of-the-sexes-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/337325\/","title":{"rendered":"Worrying signs for Nick Kyrgios ahead of Battle of the Sexes clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

The upcoming \u2018Battle of the Sexes\u2019 clash between world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> and former Wimbledon finalists Nick Kyrgios<\/a> continues to stir debate and now the male player in this contentious clash has been accused of \u2018choosing to represent misogyny\u2019 in scathing comments.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka and Kyrgios will lock horns in Dubai on December 28th, with the eyes of the world set to fall on a tennis match that has divided opinion.<\/p>\n

While the interest in the contest will fuel debate around the sporting world, many have suggested this is not a match we need to see, especially is Sabalenka is well beaten.<\/p>\n

Now broadcaster Katherine Whittaker has given her verdict on the contest, in the latest edition of the Tennis Podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cNick Kyrgios is a man that stands for something and that\u2019s not an accident. He choosing to stand for and represent misogyny,\u201d said Whittaker.<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/p>\n

Why the \u2018Battle of the Sexes\u2019 showdown could have a negative impact on women\u2019s tennis<\/a><\/p>\n

Why \u2018Battle of the Sexes\u2019 showdown between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios is missing the point<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what Nick Kyrgios will be representing and fighting for in the self-titles Battle of the Sexes. A validation of his belittling of women\u2019s tennis and the way he perceives women and women\u2019s sport of being lesser purely on the basis of brute power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event is a dog whistle. It feels like a dog whistle publicity stunt. A symbol of the populist Trumpian age of do whistles and division and stupidity.\u201d<\/p>\n

This follows up from Whittaker\u2019s previous comments, as she made her position clear on the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see absolutely nothing to be gained for women\u2019s tennis \u2013 I see only bleakness,\u201d she told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a crass commercial venture and a vehicle for one of the most outspoken misogynists in tennis who just wants attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Sabalenka wins, she beats a man who is unfit and has been a total irrelevance for a number of years. What does she win? Nothing. Unless she wins 6-0 6-0, people will only find ammunition to fire at women\u2019s tennis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Kyrgios wins, he and others of the same mind will claim it legitimises everything he\u2019s already spewing out. It\u2019s disgusting to be giving him a platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it utterly ludicrous this is going to be happening in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the pessimism around the event, Sabalenka and Kyrgios have been teasing fans with images of them appearing together ahead of their showdown in Dubai.<\/p>\n

The big question mark must be around how fit Kyrgios will be after barely playing a competitive match over the last three years due to a series of injuries.<\/p>\n

His knee problem has been especially challenging and images of him joking around with Sabalenka confirmed he is wearing bandages on his damaged knee a few weeks before the big match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The upcoming \u2018Battle of the Sexes\u2019 clash between world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and former Wimbledon finalists Nick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-337325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}