{"id":389523,"date":"2026-01-03T18:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/389523\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T18:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:50:08","slug":"iga-swiatek-dismisses-controversial-battle-of-the-sexes-tennis-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/389523\/","title":{"rendered":"Iga Swiatek Dismisses Controversial \u2018Battle of the Sexes\u2019 Tennis Match"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennis star Iga Swiatek did not mince words when talking about the controversial \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d tennis match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios.<\/p>\n

While attending a press conference before the United Cup in Australia on Friday, January 2, the six-time Grand Slam champion said the questionable match was not necessary because \u201cwomen\u2019s tennis stands on its own,\u201d adding that the match \u2014 played on December 28 in Dubai \u2014 didn\u2019t have anything to do with \u201csocial change or any important topics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the name was just the same as the one from the Billie Jean King match in \u201973. That\u2019s it,\u201d Swiatek, 24, said.<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cThere were no more similarities because I feel like women\u2019s tennis stands on its own right now. We have so many great athletes and great stories to present, we don\u2019t necessarily need to, like, compare to men\u2019s tennis. It\u2019s a totally different story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swiatek said that events like the United Cup (a mixed competition event featuring teams from 18 countries) \u201cbrings tennis all together\u201d more so than the \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWTA fans and ATP fans can watch this event with so much excitement,\u201d she said. \u201cSeeing also singles players that usually don\u2019t have space to play mixed doubles together, playing these kinds of matches, I think this is actually what makes our sport much more interesting and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d match, Kyrgios (the No. 671 ranked male who is currently battling injury) defeated Sabalenka (the top-ranked female and reigning US Open champion) in straight sets, leading to backlash from fans on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The match used modified rules, restricting each player to just one serve per point (instead of two) and shrinking Sabalenka\u2019s side of the court by nine percent compared to Kyrgios\u2019s, to try and even the playing field.<\/p>\n

\"GettyImages-2253750116
\n Poland\u2019s Iga Swiatek hits a return during a practice session ahead of the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney on January 2, 2026 Saeed KHAN \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to challenge myself and this is a huge challenge, especially playing against Nick, a guy who is unpredictable and crazy,\u201d Sabalenka told reporters before the match. \u201cIt\u2019s great training for me and a great message to the girls out there \u2014 I hope they will see how strong and tough I am by playing against a guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the match, despite the lopsided score, Kyrgios had nothing but positive words for Sabalenka and the event.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"GettyImages-2234068776
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n Related: Aryna Sabalenka Shares Message For Amanda Anisimova After US Open Final<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tUS Open 2025 women\u2019s singles winner Aryna Sabalenka paid tribute to her opponent, Amanda Anisimova, after defeating her in the final. The World No. 1 tennis star, 27, successfully defended the US Open championship that she originally won last year at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, on Saturday, September [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s an amazing athlete, when she was moving side to side she was playing shots that some of the top men play,\u201d Kyrgios said on the court after the match. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised, I\u2019ve seen her play and we have practiced a couple of times. She was right there, it could have gone either way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He continued: \u201cI was nervous. I don\u2019t think many people would have put their hand up to be in this position. The score line was close, I was under the pump there. I was nervous, this is all the world was talking about for the last six months. I couldn\u2019t even use my right hand a year, 18 months ago. I\u2019m glad to even be back out here and play, honestly it\u2019s pretty emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabalenka also alluded to potentially facing off against Kyrgios again.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally enjoyed the show,\u201d Sabalenka said after the match. \u201cAnd I feel like next time I play him I\u2019m going to know the tactics, his strengths and his weaknesses, and it\u2019s going to be a better match, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tennis star Iga Swiatek did not mince words when talking about the controversial \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d tennis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,134,85,747],"class_list":{"0":"post-389523","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389523","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=389523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}