Tennis, Kyrgios wins the ‘Battle of the sexes’: Sabalenka defeated in two sets

Nick Kyrgios won the 2025 “Battle of the Sexes” by beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka. The exhibition match, staged in Dubai, saw the Australian tennis player triumph in two sets against the Belarusian champion, with a double 6-3. The match was played on a modified court: Sabalenka’s half was 9% smaller, to “rebalance the average differences in movement speed between men and women”, and with the limit of only one serve for each of the two opponents.

Sabalenka: “I had fun, I want to face him again”

At the end of the match, Sabalenka said she was satisfied: “I felt great, I think I fought great.” And on her opponent, she added: “He was in difficulty, he got very tired. I think the level was very high, I made many beautiful shots, I often went to the net, short balls. I really enjoyed myself.” The number one tennis player in the world then re-launched the challenge, for a possible future rematch. “The next time I play against him I will already know the tactics, his strengths and weaknesses, and it will definitely be a better match. I love to test myself and I would like to face him again,” he said.

Kyrgios: “Aryna a great fighter”

Kyrgios also commented on the challenge, underlining that “Aryna took away my serve a couple of times, she’s a great fighter.” He added: “Obviously I was nervous, I don’t think many people would have raised their hand to be in my position.” According to the Australian tennis player, the former ATP n.13 (currently n.671 after a long stop due to injury), “it was a hard-fought match, a match that the whole world has been talking about in recent months. There were breaks on both sides, it could have ended one way or another”.