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RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – NOVEMBER 01: Aryna Sabalenka poses for a photo with her trophy during the WTA World Number One ceremony on day one of the WTA Finals Riyadh as part of the Hologic WTA Tour 2025 at King Saud University Indoor Arena on November 01, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images for WTA)<\/p>\n
Getty Images for WTA<\/p>\n
Before Aryna Sabalenka takes the court against Nick Kyrgios in an exhibition called the \u201cBattle of the Sexes,\u201d women\u2019s tennis already lost. By agreeing to play the ATP Tour\u2019s part-time player and full-time bad boy, Sabalenka is making a mockery women\u2019s tennis and minimizing fundamental inequities.<\/p>\n
The Battle of the Sexes match is December 28, in Dubai. Evolve, the agency co-founded by Naomi Osaka and that represents Sabalenka and Kyrgios, is promoting the event. Osaka co-founding an agency that represents top players<\/a> reflects women\u2019s empowerment in sports more than this sham slam.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one gives a f— about what\u2019s happening with Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios,\u201d said former WTA Player and tennis commentator Rennae Stubbs on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast<\/a>. \u201cI mean, the only reason they\u2019re putting this on is because it is literally their company Evolve, who\u2019s a sponsor, who\u2019s their management company. . . But what is in this for women\u2019s tennis?\u201d<\/p>\n The lead-up has been mostly fun and games, with Sabalenka stating she wants to \u201ckick Nick\u2019s a–.” But by calling it the battle of the sexes, organizers evoke memories of the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, an event with social and historical significance. <\/p>\n Why Original Tennis Battle Of The Sexes Meant More<\/p>\n Former tennis great Bobby Riggs and top female tennis player Billie Jean King arm wrestle at a press conference, where they announced they’ll face each other in a $100,000 winner-take-all tennis match. Billy Jean went on to defeat Riggs, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.<\/p>\n Bettmann Archive<\/p>\n In the original \u201cBattle of the Sexes,\u201d Riggs, a former No. 1-ranked player and winner of three Wimbledon titles, was 55. King was 29. <\/p>\n King defeated Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. The match was held at the Houston Astrodome and televised on ABC, with legendary sports commentator Howard Cosell as host. Ninety million people watched worldwide, including 50 million in the U.S. <\/p>\n When Riggs first challenged King, she declined. Margaret Court took him up on his offer. Court was 30 and returning to tennis after giving birth to her first child. Riggs defeated Court 6-2, 6-1 and the match was dubbed the \u201cMother\u2019s Day Massacre.\u201d <\/p>\n Riggs took a victory lap, which included the cover of Sports Illustrated and various television appearances. <\/p>\n King sought to redeem women\u2019s tennis and agreed to play Riggs. However, she worried that a loss would do more harm than good. <\/p>\n \u201cI thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn\u2019t win that match. It would ruin the women\u2019s tour and affect all women\u2019s self-esteem,” King said in an interview with ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back then, women tennis players were paid barely above the level of amateurs. Some made $1,500 for winning tournaments. Meanwhile, their male counterparts were taking home $12,000. One of the reasons Court played Riggs was that she was guaranteed $20,000, more than she earned for winning a Grand Slam. <\/p>\n Daily News front page September 21, 1973, Headline: BILLIE JEAN KING OUTLIBS THE LIP – Wallops Riggs in Straight Sets – 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, And No Love For Bobby…Billie Jean King gives former superman Bobby Riggs comforting pat on back after she beat him, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in their “Battle of the Sexes” at Houston Astrodome, last night. Billie, 29, took mere two hours and five minutes to destroy 55-year-old hustler’s myth of masculine superiority before an exuberant crowd of 30,000 fans. (Photo By: \/NY Daily News via Getty Images)<\/p>\n NY Daily News via Getty Images<\/p>\n King\u2019s efforts to bring respect to women\u2019s tennis echoed the broader women\u2019s rights movement. The 1970s saw landmark legislation, including Title IX in 1972 and Roe v. Wade in 1973. <\/p>\n A movie about the King vs. Riggs match came out in 2017, starring Emma Stone as King and Steve Carell as Riggs. King said the Battle of the Sexes still mattered<\/a> because pay equity had yet to be achieved. <\/p>\n Sabalenka and Kyrgios trash-talking via social media trivializes the impact of the original Battle of the Sexes. <\/p>\n Caitlin Thompson, co-founder of Racquet Magazine and co-host of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, called the organizers cynical, irresponsible and callous.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that this in no way, shape or form, will be helpful to anyone, except maybe the bank accounts of a few cynical people involved. And I\u2019m saddened by the irresponsibility and callousness in which this is being organized,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cI can only hope it is dismissed as the stupid, trite and insignificant and meaningless event that it is destined to be, because giving it any credence whatsoever, as saying anything about politics, gender, the people involved, or what our society should take away from it is, is giving it far too much credit. And I would go on, except I truly don\u2019t believe that anybody involved in it has the intellectual capacity to understand what it is that they’re doing.\u201dWhy Kyrgios Is An Unworthy Opponent For Sabalenka<\/p>\n TOPSHOT – Australia’s Nick Kyrgios reacts between points against Britain’s Jacob Fearnley during their men’s singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 13, 2025. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST \/ AFP) \/ \u2014 IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE \u2014 (Photo by WILLIAM WEST\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Although Riggs was retired and older, he had a championship resume. Not only was he a former No. 1, but Riggs had also already been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. <\/p>\n Kyrgios is an often-injured part-time player with a history of making sexist remarks about professional female tennis players. His bad-boy behavior garners more attention than his tennis. <\/p>\n Sabalenka, who has had to apologize for poor sportsmanship, does herself no favors by playing Kyrgios in a so-called battle of the sexes.<\/p>\n Kyrgios is talented. He reached a Wimbledon final. But he\u2019s become more caricature than competitor. His antics include joining OnlyFans<\/a> and promising that tennis balls would be involved. He\u2019s been accused of tanking during matches. In 2023, Kyrgios pleaded guilty to one count of assault, involving pushing his ex-girlfriend. Despite Kyrgios\u2019 guilty plea, a magistrate dismissed the charges. <\/p>\n Beyond name recognition, Kyrgios offers little. Meanwhile, tennis commentators and former players are skeptical about whether the match is worth watching. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited for it. My only issue is I don\u2019t trust Nick to try,” said former ATP Player Sam Querrey, during a podcast “Nothing Major,” with Steve Johnson and Jack Sock. “I would love Nick to just play a normal match, two out of three serves, normal court, and just like Nick, try as hard as you can. Let\u2019s see what happens. There\u2019s zero chance that happens with Nick.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson called the event ridiculous. <\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re going to play, just play all out. If not, I\u2019m just saying I think this whole thing is ridiculous. There\u2019s no need to do it,” said Johnson. \u201cWe\u2019re going to get nowhere with this, especially if you\u2019re going to change serves, parameters, courts. The effort from Nick is always going to be a question mark and that\u2019s it. I don\u2019t know, like I\u2019m not going to watch a second of it to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Real Battles In Women\u2019s Tennis<\/p>\n WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 22: Venus Williams celebrates after winning a women’s single match against Peyton Stearns (not pictured) on day 2 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 22, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n The match distracts from the real inequities in men\u2019s and women\u2019s tennis. Yes, women\u2019s tennis has made significant strides since the 1970s. However, women still trail men in prize money.<\/p>\n Many 1,000-level events, like the Cincinnati Open and the Italian Open, pay women less than half what men earn, despite sharing a venue and both playing best-of-three sets. <\/p>\n Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have made more career prize money than Venus Williams. Novak Djokovic has earned more career prize money than Venus and Serena combined, and they played doubles. <\/p>\n