Sabalenka vs. Kyrgios: Does Tennis Still Need the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ in 2025?
Image Credits: Heute.at
Fifty-two years since Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs, tennis is set for another edition of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ series, this time between the women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios.
The matchup, confirmed earlier this month by Evolve, is not the first to pit the two sexes together since King’s defeat of Riggs. It does, however, mark the highest-profile matchup in several decades. Scheduled for 28 December in Dubai, the match will encompass adjustments intended to level the playing field between men and women. Both players will receive one serve to mitigate the perceived advantage men hold on this front, and Sabalenka’s side of the court will be 9% smaller to reflect the average speed discrepancy between men and women.
Given the significance of King’s victory in 1973, which helped elevate the Women’s Tennis Association and vindicated the US Open’s introduction of equal prize money, there is hope in some quarters that a Sabalenka triumph could help address the inequalities that persist within the sport. Whilst tennis is often presented as a model of gender equality, given that all four Grand Slams offer equal prize money between male and female players, and the dominance of tennis players amongst the highest-paid female athletes (Maria Sharapova topped Forbes’ yearly list between 2005-15, whilst Coco Gauff topped last year’s edition), the situation beyond the Grand Slams paints a different portrait.
At this year’s Western & Southern Open, a tournament afforded equal status on the men’s and women’s tours, winner Carlos Alcaraz took home $1,124,380 for the title. In contrast, Iga Świątek, the victor on the women’s side, received $752,275. This discrepancy appeared despite both players competing on the same courts, at the same tournament, and unlike at the Grand Slams, playing the same best-of-three format. Earlier this year, gender inequality occupied the minds of many at Roland Garros, where many felt that the omission of women’s matches from the night session slot — reserved for the ‘match of the day’ — reflected an FFT view that the men’s game held higher value.
Clearly, despite the progress tennis has made on gender equality, there remains some way to go. It may therefore be tempting to view 28 December as a platform for addressing these issues, yet such hopes are perhaps naïve. Both Sabalenka and Kyrgios are represented by Evolve, suggesting the event is commercially driven, rather than a genuine attempt to enact wider change. And even if this latter intention were to exist, would a “Battle of the Sexes” be the appropriate format in which to do this? King proved her point to Riggs, and to the ninety million who tuned in, fifty-two years ago—would it not be a step backwards to pin hopes on Sabalenka replicating something achieved half-a-century ago?
Even if Sabalenka were to triumph, there are a host of caveats primed to be utilised by some circles. Kyrgios, after all, has not played a professional singles match since March and finds himself languishing outside the world’s top 500, a stark contrast to Sabalenka whose dominant 2025 season saw her reach the finals of three of the Grand Slams. One must wonder what drove the decision to pit these two against each other. Ironically, the adjustments granted to level the “biological playing field” could be weaponised to delegitimise any significance attached to a Sabalenka triumph. And if Sabalenka were to lose? That too could be employed by the same forces who oppose the pay equity that tennis offers across the Grand Slams.
That’s not to dismiss the event in its entirety, it remains a chance to see the women’s world No. 1 against one of the most infamous names in the men’s game. Yet for those interested in bridging the gender gap that remains beneath the shiny exterior being presented, perhaps their time would be better spent looking further afield, searching for a platform that can truly bring about this change.