Billie Jean King won the most famous Battle of the Sexes, and the tennis icon has given her verdict on the controversial upcoming match of the same name between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios.
WTA world No 1 Sabalenka and former ATP world No 13 Kyrgios will meet in a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition match at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 28 December. It has been organised by Evolve, a sports agency founded by Naomi Osaka, which represents both Sabalenka and Kyrgios.
The contest will be best-of-three sets, with a 10-point match tiebreak used in place of a third set if required. Each player will be limited to using one serve.
Sabalenka’s side of the court will be 9% smaller, with Evolve saying that data shows female players move about 9% slower than men on average.
The match has drawn criticism, with some expressing concerns that it could have a negative impact on women’s tennis.
Which previous matches have been labelled a ‘Battle of the Sexes’?
Sabalenka and Kyrgios’ showdown will be the fourth match in tennis history billed as a ‘Battle of the Sexes’, with two of them having featured former American player Bobby Riggs in 1973.
Riggs, a Wimbledon and US Open champion, was 55 when he played two legends of women’s tennis: Margaret Court and Billie Jean King.
He crushed a 30-year-old Court 6-2, 6-1 in May 1973 before losing 4-6, 3-6, 3-6 to a 29-year-old King four months later in what was by far the most prominent and significant ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match.
King’s victory, which was watched by an estimated 90 million viewers worldwide, was seen by many as being hugely important for gender equality and women’s sports.
In 1992, 40-year-old Jimmy Connors defeated a 35-year-old Martina Navratilova 7-5, 6-2 in a third ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match played under hybrid rules.
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What did Billie Jean King say about the Aryna Sabalenka-Nick Kyrgios Battle of the Sexes?
Speaking to BBC Sport, King revealed she does not see many similarities between her Battle of the Sexes and the match between Sabalenka and Kyrgios.
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it,” said King, a winner of 39 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
“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.
“Mine was really political. It was rough, culturally, what was coming in with it. I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win.”
On whether the match could hurt women’s tennis given Sabalenka’s status as the world No 1, King said: “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask her (Sabalenka) after she plays, but we have never said we are better than men — ever.
“We have talked about our entertainment value — sometimes a women’s match ends up being better than a guy’s match.
“I get upset when people say, ‘you think you are better.’ We have never said that, never.”
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