An exhibition match is usually either a cute attraction or a carefully staged “thanks everyone, everyone’s happy” kind of show. But in Dubai it turned out unexpectedly lively: Nick Kyrgios beat Aryna Sabalenka 6–3, 6–3, yet the tone after the match was not about “I proved something.”
If anything, it was the opposite: “I survived, I was honestly nervous, and yes — she could have beaten me.”
An important detail: this wasn’t just a “fan event,” it was a test of ambition
The match was sold as a remake of the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” (Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs). The idea is provocative, because ideological noise instantly builds around stories like that.
And here’s what was nice: after the match, both players spoke not in slogans, but in tennis terms.
Kyrgios: “She kept applying pressure — I had to go to my maximum”
Kyrgios didn’t try to look like someone who “put on a show and walked away.” On the contrary, he repeated several times that the match was tough, and that Aryna is a great champion and an “incredible fighter.”
The most telling part was his admission: he didn’t fully know what to expect, because the situation was unusual, the context was loud, and he himself hadn’t played on tour for two years — and his comeback is emotional. Hence the nerves — in plain words.
And there was one more moment that sounded stronger than any polished compliments:
Kyrgios said the scoreline was closer than it looks, and that the result could have gone either way.
Meaning it wasn’t “I handled it comfortably.” It was “I went out there — and I really had to work.”
What he specifically pointed out about the match:
- Aryna got breaks, and that forced him to stay locked in.
- He tried to neutralize her first serve — and framed that as the key to his success.
- He said her movement and shots at times look like those of top players on the men’s tour — and that the “gap is smaller” than people are used to thinking.
And the final note was fantastic:
he wants to play her again — so she can “show her talent again,” and he can show “what he still has in reserve.”
It didn’t sound like generosity. It sounded more like respect for the fact that the match genuinely delivered.
Sabalenka: “I can see how to play him. Give me a rematch”
After the loss, Aryna didn’t look like someone who came to “mess around in a show.” She spoke in a completely pragmatic way — as if she’d just played a demanding practice session ahead of the season.
Her mood can be summed up like this: I enjoyed it, I learned a lot, the next match will be better.
What she said:
- She liked seeing that Nick tightened up and got nervous at times — not out of schadenfreude, but purely in a sporting sense: “it means I’m applying the right pressure.”
- She noted the high quality of the exchanges: net approaches, drop shots, pace.
- And the most honest part: playing against a man is different tennis — faster and tougher — and as a physical load it was “excellent.”
And then — exactly what any crowd hopes for:
“Yes, let’s do it again. I love rematches and I love challenging myself.”
The main takeaway from the whole story
If you remove the “battle of the sexes” banner, what’s left is simple: the world No. 1 played one of the most media-savvy, unconventional players — and it didn’t collapse into a circus.
Kyrgios didn’t pose as “I’m the king.” He admitted the nerves, admitted how tight it was, admitted it could have swung either way.
Sabalenka didn’t fall back on excuses. She broke the match down like a problem to solve and immediately asked for a second round.
And that, honestly, is the best outcome for a format like this: not an argument about “who proved what to whom,” but a feeling that tennis can be entertainment without losing respect for the game.
If they really do organize a rematch, it won’t be “so what happens?” anymore — it’ll be “how do they adjust?” And that’s far more interesting than any ideology.
