Former British Player Describes Aryna Sabalenka vs. Nick Kyrgios Battle of Sexes Clash as “a Gimmick”

Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios' Battle of the Sexes clash has been heavily criticized.

Former British Player Describes Aryna Sabalenka vs. Nick Kyrgios Battle of Sexes Clash as “a Gimmick”

Nick Kyrgios, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/HQ VITA, Aryna Sabalenka Archive)

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Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios’ Battle of the Sexes clash in Dubai is set to be one of the most-anticipated matches of 2025. Since the tour ended, the exhibition match has made headlines for good and bad reasons. Former British World No.1 Greg Rusedski has now given his take on the clash on December 28.

Sabalenka and Kyrgios have faced huge criticism ahead of the Battle of the Sexes, with several former players questioning the relevance of the match. Some argued that the previous versions of the Battle of the Sexes exhibition were based on social change and cohesion, but the forthcoming version is only for entertainment.

Besides that, the rules of the match have been heavily questioned. The organizers revealed a few weeks ago that Sabalenka’s side of the court will 9% smaller than Kyrgios side of the court, which brings an imbalance to the match and has never been done previously in a Battle of the Sexes clash.

Also, each player will be operating with just one serve that would then give the points. The rules are seen as a way to dilute the competitiveness of the match, making it entertaining and less hectic for Sabalenka and Kyrgios. But that has also been criticized by several former players, including Greg Rusedski.

Rusedski noted during a conversation on Off Court with Greg podcast that he would have preferred a straight battle between the best female player on tour and a rival who has struggled with injuries over the past one and a half years on tour having featured in just five matches in 2025:

The court size has to be the same because that’s the way tennis is played. Is this more of an exhibition, and is Kyrgios going to take her along, or is it going to be a real battle out there where they go toe-to-toe properly? We don’t know. Also, Kyrgios hasn’t really been on tour for three years, so we don’t know how that is going to work out if he is playing three full sets. There are three questions here. Yes you like it, no you don’t like it or is it a gimmick…

Sabalenka finished the season as year-end World No.1 for the second consecutive year. She won four titles, including the US Open, and got to the final of three Grand Slam tournaments. Meanwhile, Kyrgios has been away from the tour since July. He last played a competitive match at the Citi Open in the doubles category alongside his partner French star Gael Monfils.

Greg Rusedski believes Aryna Sabalenka will be affected by one rule at the Battle of the Sexes exhibition

Aryna Sabalenka is expected to win the Battle of the Sexes clash against Nick Kyrgios because of her form. Kyrgios is ranked outside the Top 650 in the ATP rankings and has just played five tour-level singles matches. However, the decision to give both players just one serve is designed to limit the power advantage of Kyrgios, who has boasted that Sabalenka can’t return his serve.

Aryna Sabalenka, Nick Kyrgios (2)
Aryna Sabalenka, Nick Kyrgios (Image via X/Game, Set & Talk, Quindici Zero)

During the aforementioned conversation, Greg Rusedski admitted that the rule change may backfire on Sabalenka. The former ATP player noted that the Belarusian star has had issues with her serve in the past and in some matches serves well under pressure:

We know that Sabalenka has had problems on her serve in the past, so giving her one serve may be difficult. Her second serve can be a little bit dodgy at time and there’s going to be a lot of stress in there because all eyeballs are on this event. Being in Dubai, the ball sails around a bit there, so that will be tough. I think this will be entertaining, but do we need it? I’m not sure.

Sabalenka will kick off her 2026 season at the Brisbane International, where the likes of Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys, and Amanda Anisimova will be competing. She’s the defending champion of the event. On the other hand, Kyrgios was handed a wild card in Brisbane for the men’s category.

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