Ex-ATP Pro Calls ‘Battle of the Sexes’ Between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios Ridiculous: “Not Going to Watch it”

Aryna Sabalenka‘s season ended when the WTA Finals concluded on November 8. But Sabalenka will be playing one more match this year.

On December 28, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka‘s agency, Evolve, will organize the much-awaited ‘Battle of the Sexes’ where Sabalenka will lock horns with Nick Kyrgios. Several former players don’t like the idea of another man versus woman clash, questioning the purpose of it at a time like this, saying the female players are not fighting for equal rights.

Serena Williams‘ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, said that if the match had been held 150 years ago, it would have held a lot of value. Now, Steve Johnson, during the Nothing Major podcast, gave his reaction to the exhibition match.

I think it’s ridiculous, to be honest. If they’re going to play, just play all out. If not, I’m just saying, like I think this whole thing is ridiculous. There’s no need to do it. Just, you know, have it’s just we’re going to get nowhere with this. If you’re especially going to change serves, parameters, courts, the effort from Nick is always going to be a question mark, and that’s it. I don’t know. Like, I’m not going to watch a second of it, to be honest.

Kyrgios was last seen in action in a doubles event at the Citi Open, where he played alongside Gael Monfils, but their campaign ended after their opening-round defeat. He clinched his first win in 18 months against Mackenzie McDonald in the first round of the Miami Open. Kyrgios played only five tournaments this year after making his comeback following a long injury layoff at the Brisbane International.

Aryna Sabalenka reflects on her 2025 season

Aryna Sabalenka couldn’t end the season on a high note, given that she failed to lift her first WTA Finals title, losing in straight sets to Elena Rybakina. It was the fourth time this season that the 27-year-old couldn’t win a final where a Big Title was on the line.

She lost the Australian Open to Madison Keys, following which Mirra Andreeva defeated her at Indian Wells. Coco Gauff was the reason behind her French Open heartbreak, before Rybakina denied her the year-end championships. At the press conference after her defeat to the Kazakh ace, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion reflected on her 2025 season.

Sometimes there are players who are better than you, days when they are better than you. How to recover after such a tough defeat? Well, you just have to keep going, nothing else. The bad thing about this season is that I lost almost all the important finals I played, so I’ll take advantage of the time in the Maldives to sit down, have a tequila, and reflect on this issue, analyze my behavior, my emotions, and focus on all the good things that have happened to me so far.

Sabalenka lifted four titles from nine finals this year. The biggest title she bagged was the US Open by defeating Amanda Anisimova. Besides the aforementioned tournament, Sabalenka clinched the Brisbane International, Miami Open, and the Madrid Open, and also lost the final of the Stuttgart Open.

For Rybakina, it was her third title of the season. She for sure did not enter the Riyadh event as a heavy favorite, as she was the eighth player to qualify and had to fight hard to book a ticket for Riyadh. Before the WTA Finals, the 2022 Wimbledon champion clinched the Ningbo Open and the Strasbourg Open. It was her first Big Title since the 2023 Italian Open.

Also read: Aryna Sabalenka Reveals How She Plans to Mentally Regroup after WTA Finals Loss to Elena Rybakina

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