Aryna Sabelenka promises complete confidence. Nick Kyrgios offers uncertainty.
In that sense, it will be business as usual when Sabalenka faces Kyrgios in an updated “Battle of the Sexes” match Sunday at Dubai.
Once warmups are complete, though, it will be anything goes.
“This event is really unpredictable,” Sabalenka, 27, said Saturday. “I don’t know what to expect and that’s what I love because this is the feeling that you chase when you play sport.”
Kyrgios promises similar chaos, which is hardly a surprise, given his personality.
“If you know me, you know how unpredictable I am, but I’m as well prepared as I possibly could be,” Kyrgios, 30, said. “I feel like I’m going to win.”
In the matchup between good friends, Sabalenka is coming off a year in which the Belarus native won her second consecutive U.S. Open women’s title and the fourth grand slam title of her career. Kyrgios is trying to bounce back from injuries that limited him to five singles matches in 2025.
More than focus on the woman vs. man aspect to the match, both are trying to promote the must-see element for their sport.
“It’s great training for me and a great message to the girls out there — I hope they will see how strong and tough I am by playing against a guy,” Sabalenka said.
The match also will serve as a tuneup for Kyrgios’ comeback from ankle and knee issues in recent years. The Australia native is set to play in the upcoming Brisbane International as a wild-card entry.
Once No. 13 in the world in 2016, Kyrgios enters the new season ranked No. 673. Sabalenka is No. 1 in the women’s rankings.
“I haven’t won a grand slam (title) but I’ve walked out in a grand slam final,” said Kyrgios, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final. “This is something completely different, I don’t know how my body or my mind will react.
“It’s a completely different energy. I’m going to bring something different, for sure. My strength has always been my unpredictability, even on the men’s tour.”
A battle-of-the-sexes style match has been contested three times in the past. There were two in 1973 when Bobby Riggs defeated Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 and Billie Jean King topped Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. In 1992, Jimmy Connors defeated Martina Navratilova 7-6, 6-2.
During the Dubai match, Sabalenka’s side of the court will be 9% smaller, with both players restricted to one serve.
–Field Level Media
