By Richard Pagliaro Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Photo credit: Matthew Chamlin
Nick Kyrgios When he meets, he may be playing for more than just pride and a big payday Alina SabalenkIn this month’s Battle of the Sexes showdown.
in new interview Piers Morgan UncensoredKyrgios said he would probably hang up his racket for good if he loses to Sabalenka.
“I’ve been through some pretty low moments in my career,” Kyrgios told Piers Morgan. “I know Elena and I know she is confident in her abilities.
“I’m very aware that she is a dangerous tennis player. At the end of the day, I failed miserably. But if I had failed, this person might have hung up her racket forever.”
Given that Kyrgios will be competing in next month’s upcoming Kooyong exhibition and the MGM Grand Slam in Las Vegas on March 1, with a prize pool of $1 million, a loss to Sabalenka seems unlikely to officially end his tennis career, but Kyrgios being Kyrgios, who knows?
The battle of the sexes between two-time US Open champion Sabalenka and former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios will take place on December 28 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
The exhibition event has some interesting rules designed to create a more level playing field and hopefully a more interesting exhibition.
The Battle of the Sexes will be a best-of-three-set match, with a 10-point championship tiebreaker taking place in place of the third set if necessary. Each player will only be served once instead of the traditional two per point, and Sabalenka’s side of the court will be 9% smaller in length and width, leaving her with less court to cover and Kyrgios with less room to hit the ball.
The two competed in a mixed doubles match at the Garden Cup at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. Dominating the tennis world, Kyrgios and partner Naomi Osaka defeated Sabalenka and Tommy Paul in the Fast4 competition. In that game, Sabalenka tried to coach Kyrgios, shaving his head under a baseball cap and hitting several high volleys.
In a joint interview with Piers Morgan, Sabalenka took aim at Kyrgios, saying she was supposed to be served twice in the upcoming showdown, but a “stressed” Kyrgios insisted they could only get one apiece.
“Initially, I served twice, but then he got too stressed and he canceled one,” Sabalenka said. “It’s too bad of him to do that. As a gentleman, he has to give me two, right?”
When asked for his response, Kyrgios said that initially he agreed with all the rules, but on reflection he felt that if Sabalenka had served twice, he would have been a solid loser.
“We had our first meeting and I was very happy with all the rules,” Kyrgios said. “Don’t get me wrong, she serves really well, better than some of the male players.
“So I feel like if she had two serves and I had one, I would be at a disadvantage, and I’m not even kidding.”
Former doubles world number one Rene StubbSlamming the Battle of the Sexes is just a money grab on behalf of Sabalenka and Kyrgios’ management companies.
talking about Rene Stubbs Tennis PodcastLongtime ESPN analyst Stubbs had a scathing response to the game.
“They say it has an important place in history…yeah, that’s the one from 50 years ago [Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs] This is important as American women strive for equality and women’s rights. That’s when it matters,” Stubbs said.
“Nobody cares what happened to Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios…
“The only reason they’re wearing this is because their management company has gone, ‘We’re going to make some money here.'” But what does that mean for women’s tennis? “
Asked to assess Stubbs’ criticism, Kyrgios said he didn’t care what his countryman said.
“I don’t think I ever really took anything Rene Stubbs said to me personally, to be honest, or I never really cared, to be honest,” Kyrgios said. “I think it shows unity. People don’t know that Aryna and I get along really well. We have a lot of fun.”
Kyrgios said the battle of the sexes promoted the fact that tennis is one of the few sports where men and women can share courts and compete together, as they do at mixed doubles Grand Slam tournaments, including the popular US Open mixed doubles format last August.
“I think it shows unity…I would be very nervous!”
Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka have responded to criticism of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match as they prepare for the match.
Watch more 👇
📺 https://t.co/tP8k3DlpJl@piersmorgan | @ SabalenkaA | @nickkyrgios pic.twitter.com/rI3A8vvLfW
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) December 9, 2025
“When men and women are doing more of this together now, I think it shows that the sport is actually moving in a positive direction and not being mutually exclusive,” Kyrgios said. “We still have mixed doubles, we still have mixed doubles championships, so why can’t we do something like this.
“I actually think it’s a positive. There’s always going to be people who don’t support it.”
