In a match that many wondered if it should have happened in the first place, and if there was any need for it whatsoever, Nick Kyrgios, 671st-ranked in men’s tennis, defeated Aryna Sabalenka, the number one-ranked player in women’s tennis, on December 28, 2025.
In the exhibition match in Dubai that had no official bearing on individual rankings or records, the four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka did put up a fight, but lost 3-6, 3-6, to Nick Kyrgios, who has had fitness issues and won only one singles match in the last three years.
The match was widely referred to as the ‘Battle of the Sexes,’ reminiscent of the famous match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973, in which Billie Jean King defeated the 55-year-old Riggs.
To add ‘balance’ to the match, Sabalenka’s side of the court was 9 percent smaller, but it evidently did not do much to make the game a close fight.
Both players, however, seemed perfectly content with the match and hoped they could do it again.
Critics wondered what Sabalenka hoped to accomplish with the match. Even if she had won, it would have been against a male player suffering from injuries and ranked very low.
Despite questions about the need for such a match, there was considerable interest, as evidenced by the presence of football superstar Ronaldo in the audience.