By Richard Pagliaro Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Alina Sabalenka No messing with the mistletoe this holiday season.
World No. 1 has a post-Christmas wish: face Nick Kyrgios and hit him on the back.
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 two players shared news of the showdown on their Instagram pages today.
When asked about the battle of the sexes at the U.S. Open in September, Sabalenka shared her simple goal.
“It’s going to be fun, especially against a guy like Nick,” Sabalenka said. “Like he said in another interview, I sincerely think I’m going to win, I’m definitely going to be there, I’m going to try
I tried my best to kick his ass. “
Kyrgios said he would like to see tennis build more competition and “more charlatanism” and believed the showdown could attract more interest in the sport.
“Tennis needs more competition. Tennis needs more charlatanism, like the NBA in the 1990s,” Kyrgios said. “You can’t please everyone.
“I’m not friends with a lot of the players and I have no interest in being a part of them.”
billie jane king famous failure Bobby Riggs In 1973, the most-watched Battle of the Sexes in history took place at the Houston Planetarium. King’s Conquest comes just months after Riggs defeated Margaret Court in an outdoor battle of the sexes.
Howard Cosell and Hall of Famers Rosie Casals and Gene Scott Providing commentary for King vs. Riggs vs. Scott, who played King at the inaugural Battle of the Sexes charity show, predicted that Riggs “has to dominate.”
1992, jimmy conners duel failed Martina Navratilova Battle of the Sexes at Legends Southpaw’s Match in Las Vegas.
Connors later revealed that he bet on himself to win that fight and prevailed.
John McEnroe shares the story of how Donald Trump tried to stage a $1 million battle of the sexes before he became US president, pitting the mercurial McEnroe against Serena Williams. McEnroe has long insisted he would sweep Serena if that fight went through.
Although that match never took place, McEnroe did play against Venus Williams in the mixed doubles match at Wimbledon.
Steffi Graf and McEnroe defeated Venus Williams and Justin Gimelstob in that duel, and McEnroe said in his memoirs that when he saw Williams standing so close to receive the serve, he wanted to “show the old man some respect.”
