Aryna Sabalenka is adamant her post-Christmas “battle of the sexes”-style exhibition clash with Nick Kyrgios is not going to prove a meaningless gimmick that damages women’s sport.<\/p>\n
Belarus’s four-time grand slam champion and world number one has defended the contest against Australia’s world number 672 on December 28, claiming it will help take women’s tennis to a higher level.<\/p>\n
And the two-time Australian Open winner has no doubt that whatever the result of the actual match in Dubai, there will be one real winner.<\/p>\n
“He’s in a lose-lose situation,” Sabalenka said of Australia’s injury-hit former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios. “I’m in a win-win situation.”<\/p>\n
In an interview with the BBC, which itself has been criticised in Britain for deciding to screen the event, Sabalenka dismissed suggestions the women’s game would be belittled if she loses.<\/p>\n
“I don’t agree,” she said. “I am not putting myself at any risk. We’re there to have fun and bring great tennis. Whoever wins, wins.”<\/p>\n
“It’s so obvious that the man is biologically stronger than the woman, but it’s not about that. This event is only going to help \u200cbring women’s tennis to a higher level.”<\/p>\n
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Nick Kyrgios insists he is not scared of losing to Aryna Sabalenka. (Getty Images: Mark Metcalfe)<\/p>\n
That view has been countered by many critics, including leading British TV tennis presenter Catherine Whitaker, who has dismissed the event as “a dog-whistle publicity stunt”.<\/p>\n
She was particularly scathing of Kyrgios’s part in it, too, saying: “I see absolutely nothing to be gained for women’s tennis \u2014 I see only bleakness.<\/p>\n
“It’s a crass commercial venture and a vehicle for one of the most outspoken misogynists in tennis who just wants attention.”<\/p>\n
The match is an echo of the famous 1973 Battle of the Sexes match when trailblazer Billie Jean King defeated 55-year-old former grand slam winner Bobby Riggs with a reported 90 million TV viewers tuning in.<\/p>\n