Aryna Sabalenka Jokingly Brands Nick Kyrgios ‘Naughty’ as they Celebrate Christmas Early Before Controversial ‘Battle of the Sexes’

Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka are gearing up for the highly anticipated return to the court in the Battle of the Sexes exhibition clash in Dubai on December 28. The intriguing exhibition match has caught the attention of fans and sports enthusiasts, while the WTA No. 1 and the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up continue to set the tone on social media.

However, Sabalenka and Kyrgios are both in the United States of America ahead of the Atlanta Cup exhibition tournament, which will also feature Ben Shelton and Naomi Osaka. The Australian star will use the event as a good preparation for the upcoming clash against Sabalenka in Dubai and perhaps will be fit for the Australian Open.

The Battle of the Sexes exhibition match is organized by Evolve, the representative agency for both players, which is owned by four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka. The clash between Kyrgios and Sabalenka comes more than 50 years after Billie Jean King secured a historical win over former World No.1 Bobby Riggs in front of more than 90 million viewers.

Sabalenka versus Kyrgios has failed to gain the kind of media attention that Billie Jean King and Riggs had. Several former players have criticized the reason behind the event, noting that the driving point behind the match is only money and not to help the sport.

But that doesn’t seem to be bothering Sabalenka or Kyrgios as they continue to hype up the clash on social media. On Friday (December 7), Kyrgios shared some photos from their latest outing in Atlanta in Christmas fits. The former World No.13 wore a green jacket with green shorts, with Sabalenka in a navy blue outfit. He then captioned on Instagram:

Naughty or nice.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nick Kyrgios (@k1ngkyrg1os)

Sabalenka then reacted to the post in the comments section, revealing that Kyrgios picked the right picture:

You picked the best pics lol Definitely naughty.

Kyrgios has been sadly sidelined with numerous injuries for the major part of this season. In fact, he has not played in up to ten matches in two seasons. He recently admitted that he’s feeling well physically, particularly his wrist. He has not played a singles match since the Miami Open in March.

Aryna Sabalenka’s coach reacts to the Battle of the Sexes clash in Dubai

Aryna Sabalenka dominated the women’s circuit this season, cementing her place at the top of the WTA rankings. She ended her 2025 season at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, losing to Elena Rybakina in the championship match. The 27-year-old was in tears after the loss and went to the Maldives to recuperate from the loss.

Despite the hectic schedule and WTA Finals loss, she’s still willing to play in the Battle of the Sexes clash in Dubai. Her coach, Jason Stacy, revealed during an interview with The Line podcast that he wasn’t involved in the fixing of the Battle of the Sexes clash against Nick Kyrgios. He showed skepticism, but with genuine curiosity about the match:

This Battle of the Sexes thing. I wasn’t involved in any of the process. I thought it would be kind of a cool, fun thing to do, that I’m obviously changing some of the structure and the rules and the court size and a bunch of variables to make it more even. Because the reality is, whether people like it or not, there is a reason that we have weight classes and skill differences and gender differences. There really is a difference; does it matter?

Sabalenka will hope to prove a point in her clash with Kyrgios at the Battle of the Sexes exhibition tournament. There have been discussions that women players cannot compete against men’s players due to the significant differences in their style of play and physical attributes.

Also Read: Rafael Nadal Has Solution to Revive Davis Cup After Top Players’ Withdrawals This Year

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