Australian tennis coach Roger Rasheed has teed off on the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ between Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka, describing it as “quite insulting”.
The event has created rigorous debate ahead of the exhibition match in Dubai on New Year’s Eve with many divided on its purpose.
In 1973, Billie Jean King defeated former champion Bobby Riggs in a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ showdown. That match was known as a powerful moment for social progress and empowerment, however the Kyrgios-Sabalenka fixture has been touted as a publicity stunt.
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Roger Rasheed. via Getty Images
Renae Stubbs has criticised the event, while King herself doesn’t believe it has anything to do with social change.
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,” she told BBC Sport.
“Everything else, no. Ours was about social change, culturally, where we were in 1973. This one is not.
“I hope it’s a great match, I want Sabalenka, obviously, to win, but it’s just not the same.”
Tennis legend Billie Jean King is seen at the Australian Open. Robert Prange via Getty Images
Rasheed has now joined the chorus of criticism, saying “I’m pretty disappointed it’s on” to ABC Sport.
“I’d be interested to see if you asked the cohort on the WTA tour how they feel about it,” he said.
“The Billy Jean King and Riggs event was about something else … I’m not a fan of it, to be honest. I think it’s a lose-lose for the women’s side and I actually think it’s quite insulting, to be perfectly honest.
“I think Nick’s management has put this show on. The court’s nine per cent smaller on one side because apparently data shows that the women’s side of the game, their movement is by less than nine per cent.
“They’re playing one serve for a point … I would have to ask you: what’s the benefit? What are we getting out of it?”
Rasheed also said there’d be nothing to win for the world No.1 Sabalenka.
“The No.1 player in the world, Sabalenka, where’s the win for her? Where’s the win for the game of tennis?” he said.
“Is it making people watch? You know what, the BBC are showing it on their main channel, so there’s something in that with the intrigue. But the reality is, if you’re looking after Sabalenka commercially, is this the place you want to be?”
Sabalenka has previously said “this event is only going to help bring women’s tennis to a higher level”.