Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\nKing, one of the all-time greats of the women\u2019s game who was at the peak of her powers, saw off the 55-year-old Riggs, a top player in his day, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in Houston.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, each player received only one serve and the dimensions of Sabalenka\u2019s side of the court were nine per cent smaller, in an attempt to restrict Kyrgios\u2019 power and speed advantage.<\/p>\n
The move to make the court smaller especially drew criticism with some pointing out the awkwardness for TV viewing, while others questioned the purpose of the event if Kyrgios was going to be handicapped. <\/p>\n
Critics had already questioned the motive behind the event, organised by the agency that manages the careers of both players, beyond the broadcast ratings and money generated.<\/p>\n
The suitability of Kyrgios — who admitted assaulting an ex-girlfriend in 2021 and has had to distance himself from misogynistic remarks in the past — for the men\u2019s role in the act also stirred debate.<\/p>\n
Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up, has dropped to 671 in the rankings after playing just six tour-level matches over the past three seasons, but the 30-year-old Australian still had enough to see off four-time Grand Slam singles champion Sabalenka.<\/p>\n
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DECEMBER 28: Runner-up Aryna Sabalenka and her goddaughter Nicole pose for a photo with Nick Kyrgios of Australia during the trophy ceremony following the Battle of the Sexes match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios of Australia at Coca-Cola Arena on December 28, 2025 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Christopher Pike\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it was a really tough match. She is a hell of a player and such a great champion,\u201d said Kyrgios.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe broke my serve numerous times, and I had to strap in.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I would love to play her again and showcase her talent and what I have left in the tank. Ultimately it was a really hard-fought battle.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kyrgios admitted he dealt with nerves as Sabalenka strode into the arena to \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d in a sparkling jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I was nervous. Not many people would have put their hand up to be in this position,\u201d said Kyrgios.<\/p>\n
\u201cSabalenka was up for the challenge, and the scoreline was close.\u201d Sabalenka, who retained her US Open title in September after losing in both the Australian and French Open finals this year, said she was keen for a rematch with Kyrgios.<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka makes her way to the court prior to her Battle of the Sexes exhibition tennis match against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in Dubai on December 28, 2025. (Photo by Amr Alfiky \/ POOL \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I put up a great fight. He was struggling, he got really tired,\u201d said Sabalenka.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made a lot of great shots, moved a lot to the net, drop shots. Really enjoyed the show. Next time when I play him, I already know the tactics, his strengths and weaknesses, and it will be a better match for sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love to challenge myself and I\u2019d love to play again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nick Kyrgios beat women\u2019s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d on Sunday, in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2620,203201,2095,1724,64,63,689,1804,82975,203206,5951,145218,203196,203198,203204,2105,5145,203207,203205,203199,203197,2041,2067,677,21396,203200,76106,203202,85,41693,23648,3370,112048,203203,120076,29994,2614,12000,10911],"class_list":["post-376959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-all-time-greats","tag-america","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-billie-jean-king","tag-bobby-riggs","tag-divided-tennis-fans","tag-dubai","tag-exhibition-match","tag-exhibition-tennis-match","tag-female-players","tag-fitness-regime","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-houston","tag-jean-king","tag-kyrgios-v","tag-misogynistic-remarks","tag-nascent-women","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-prize-money","tag-professional-tour","tag-singles-champion","tag-speed-advantage","tag-sports","tag-tennis-match","tag-tennis-world","tag-texas","tag-tough-match","tag-tour-level-matches","tag-trophy-ceremony","tag-united-arab-emirates","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-western-asia","tag-world-number"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376959","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=376959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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